Imran says may dissolve assemblies

Hints at a middle-way to appoint new army chief

Abid Raza

LAHORE, SEP 12 (DNA) — Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan on Monday has asked Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif several questions over PTI’s media blackout. He said the PTI may dissolve Punjab and KP assemblies in order to pave way for the elections adding PTI did not favour a change by force or through any violent moves.

In a TV talk show when he was asked to comment on the appointment of the new army chief Imran Khan said appointment of new chief at the hands of Zardari and Shehbaz does not make any sense. He said it is up to the lawyers to find out middle way to settle this issue. The PTI Chief did not deny outright when he was asked if he were in favour of General Bajwa’s extension.

“Question for Shahbaz Sharif: Are you, out of PTI-fear, responsible for media gags on us, threats & violence against journalists, and fake cases against them, forcing blackouts of PTI and myself from TV and YouTube, and the callous act of trying to blackout my flood relief telethon?” Imran Khan wrote in a series of tweets.

“We know your cabal of crooks & handlers are petrified of PTI popularity. But if you are not responsible for violating our constitutional rights & int commitments on freedom of press & speech, then it is your responsibility to inform the nation who is responsible for these actions?,” the PTI chairman asked.

Imran Khan stated that the “imported government” consisting of criminals and their patrons has degraded to a new level by stopping the broadcast of PTI’s flood fund-raising telethon organised last night, adding that the government also threatened the cable operators.

“This proves how much they are afraid of our growing popularity in the nation. They also know that due to the long history of looting, no one is ready to trust them in terms of money. So, to target me and my party, they tried to block the way of collecting donations for the flood victims,” he said.

“Despite all this we managed to collect 5.2 billion rupees in just 2 hours. I am grateful to everyone who donated, including Pakistanis living abroad, and especially those living in the United States,” Imran added.