Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan
Reuters
Islamabad: Pakistan's jailed former prime minister Imran Khan on Monday warned that his party would launch street protests if the government refused to implement the Supreme Court's verdict on the reserved seats or extended the tenure of Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa.
"If the government does not accept the decision of specific seats and tries to give an extension to Chief Justice Qazi Faiz Isa, then we will protest," Khan said during an informal chat with the journalists in the Adiala Jail, Rawalpindi.
Khan also said that he never asked his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party to conduct a movement on the streets. "I understood that the country's economy is bad, we should not protest," he said.
On July 12, the Supreme Court declared Khan's party eligible to receive reserved seats for women and non-Muslims in the national and provincial assemblies, giving it a new lease on life in the legislature by declaring it to be a parliamentary party.
Khan's PTI was not allowed to nominate candidates for the February 8 general elections as it was deprived of its symbol of cricket bat due to failure to hold intra-party elections. However, independent candidates backed by PTI won more seats than any other party in the National Assembly. However, a post-poll deal between the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and the Pakistan Peoples Party did not allow Khan to return to power.
Khan, 71, warned that the government wanted to amend the Constitution so that it could extend the chief justice's term by disregarding the Supreme Court decisions and threatened that it would result in widespread protests.
Comparing Pakistan's situation to that of Bangladesh under Sheikh Hasina, Khan said that the current political climate was not good. "Our conditions are worse than Bangladesh's," Khan claimed.
He also said that Bangladesh's ousted premier had appointed her army chief, chief justice and police chiefs while sidelining opposition parties. He drew parallels between these events and Pakistan, saying "These events have occurred and are occurring in Pakistan as well." Khan condemned the alleged electoral fraud, stating that the government feared that it would be exposed and trying to appoint its judges in tribunals to avoid the scrutiny that would come with reopening constituencies.
He warned that the nation is on edge, with the potential for widespread unrest if these issues are not addressed.
He also criticised the government for its handling of last year's May 9 incidents and for unleashing a crackdown on the PTI workers and leaders under false pretence.
"The same people who stole footage of May 9 were responsible for the events of that day,” Khan said.