• Qureshi extends his party’s cooperation to the caretaker premier. 
• “Level playing field should be provided to all political parties in polls.” 
• PTI intends to challenge the decision made by the CCI in the court. 

A day after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) failed to give the Supreme Court a  final date for the upcoming general elections, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi urged caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar to ensure timely polls in the country.

Speculations about the delay in holding polls sparked when Director General (Law) Muhammad Arshad failed to give the apex court a certain date for the polls. Hearing petitions against delimitations of provincial constituencies PS 7, 8, and 9 Shikarpur, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial on Tuesday inquired when were the general elections being held. To this, the director general shrugged his shoulders.

“As yet, no date for the elections has been decided. The election commission should resolve all issues before the polls,” the CJP remarked.

In a letter to the interim prime minister, Qureshi apprised Kakar that his party intended to challenge the decision made by the Council of Common Interests (CCI) in the court.

On August 5, the CCI “unanimously” approved the 7th Population and Housing Census results, making it almost certain that the general elections — which were to be held in November after the dissolution of the National Assembly on August 9 — would not be held during the current year.

“Time has come to put the country on the path of law and the constitution,” he added

PTI extends cooperation to caretaker PM

In his letter, the PTI leader also felicitated Kakar for being appointed as the caretaker prime minister and extended his party’s cooperation to him in fulfilling the “great responsibility” assigned to him.

Lashing out at the former government, Qureshi said: “The country is on the verge of complete destruction of the constitution.”

The previous government used the intuitions to escape from accountability, adding that the former rulers’ behaviour caused massive damage to the foundations of the state. He accused the former PDM garment of using the state intuitions to oust the PTI from the election arena.

“PTI chairman is kept in Attock prison in very inhuman conditions,” Qureshi said, adding that he was deprived of the basic rights promised in the Constitution and jail laws.

He apprised the interim prime minister said over 10,000 workers of PTI were currently behind bars.

PTI seeks ‘level playing field’

It is essential for the credibility of polls that a ‘level playing field’ should be provided to all the political parties and candidates in the upcoming general elections, Qureshi said.

The PTI leader was of the view that the foundation of democracy is based on the citizens’ right to vote.