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Pakistan Punjab

PTI emphasizes the possibility of ‘FATF grey listing’ over govt crackdown.

LAHORE: Fawad Chaudhry, Senior Vice President of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif responded irrationally to President Dr Arif Alvi’s letter, which drew his attention to constitutional provisions.

On Friday, Alvi wrote to Shehbaz, requesting that he direct the relevant authorities to assist the Election Commission of Pakistan with the conduct of elections in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

The president stated in the letter that holding elections in the two provinces on time, in accordance with the Supreme Court’s order dated March 1, 2023, was critical to avoid further complications, including contempt of court.

The letter was written in response to the ECP’s decision to postpone the Punjab Assembly elections until October 8. The ECP cited security concerns and a lack of funds as reasons for postponing the elections.

On Sunday, Fawad addressed a news conference at the Lahore Press Club alongside PTI Secretary General Asad Umar, Azam Swati, and others, emphasising that there was no other way to bring political stability to the country than by implementing the provisions outlined in the Constitution. “The prime minister did not respond logically to a single question raised by the president in his letter,” he said. The prime minister’s response appears to have been written by a Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) spokesperson.”

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“What is happening in Pakistan today was not possible even in the worst monarchies,” he said. In Pakistan, it appears that a ‘Nazi’ government has been imposed. We have left atrocities committed against the people of Burma and North Korea.”

He emphasised that all eyes were now on the Supreme Court (SC), adding that the international community was concerned about the state of human rights in Pakistan due to gross violations of human rights and restrictions on freedom of expression.

He claimed that over 2,000 of his party’s leaders and workers had been arrested in the run-up to the PTI’s Minar-i-Pakistan public rally on Saturday.

“People are being picked up and taken from Lahore. Azhar Mashwani has gone missing. “It’s been three days,” he says.

He claimed that the caretaker Punjab government had closed all roads leading to the Minar-i-Pakistan under the guise of security. All city entry and exit points were closed by placing containers on roads, but a large number of people showed up at the rally by crossing all obstacles and declaring their verdict on these “imported rulers.”

Fawad warned that all of the country’s human rights violations were pushing it towards international sanctions.

The actions of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government against the people of Pakistan would return Pakistan to the Financial Action Task Force’s grey list (FATF).

He claimed that enforced disappearances had no place in Pakistan, or the country would face severe economic consequences in the form of sanctions.

He accused Federal Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah of leading a “gang” and pressed him on his political beliefs.

He claimed that the government was governing out of fear. “We are asking you to do your own politics while we do ours.”

Umar said at a news conference that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s reaction to the president’s letter demonstrated his low status.

He chastised the government, claiming that six people had died while trying to obtain subsidised wheat flour.

He warned that if the country was run the way it was, there would be no democracy in Pakistan. The coming week would be pivotal in Pakistani history, with all eyes on the Supreme Court.

“The country no longer has a 1950s judiciary, and everyone will see the judiciary defending the Constitution and the country,” he insisted.