ISLAMABAD: Minister for Housing and Works Maulana Abdul Wasay has urged mainstream political leadership to take broad-based decisions for strengthening the nascent democracy, ensuring supremacy of the constitution and achieving the goals of sustainable economy in the country. In a statement issued here, the minister said the previous government of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was fully responsible for the present deteriorated economic situation mainly due to wrong policies of Imran Khan and his team, besides failure to strengthen rupees against dollar. Abdul Wasay said the present coalition government was trying to improve the national economy by taking corrective measures as the past regime played havoc with the economy. The minister said the past rulers were misleading the public by creating a wrong narrative of external conspiracy in ousting of their incompetent government, who themselves remained waiting for telephone calls from presidents of influential countries. “The whole world is well aware that the PTI government came into power through a backdoor, which has now ended through a democratic process,” he added. Abdul Wasay said all democratic forces were unanimous that free and fair general elections were the only solution to the challenges being faced by the country. The minister said free and fair elections were only possible after the much-needed electoral reforms and by undoing all unconstitutional steps taken by the PTI government. He said Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) believed in democracy and supremacy of the parliament, for which it would continue playing their due role. Abdul Wasay requested the masses elect the JUI-F candidates in the local body elections, scheduled to be held in Balochistan province on May 29.