LAHORE: PTI chairman Imran Khan has announced that he will not attend the all-party conference the government is planning to hold for devising a joint policy against terrorism.
Addressing a press conference here on Sunday, he also threatened to give a call for street protests if his party’s demand for a thorough investigation into rigging in four constituencies in the general elections was not accepted.
He hinted at joining an opposition alliance on a minimum agenda.
“There is no use of attending the APC. Such moots had been held previously and they reached the conclusion of holding talks (with the Taliban). I want to know why the talks are not held?”
Accompanied by PTI’s presidential candidate retired Justice Wajihuddin Ahmed and other party leaders, he said he wished to hear the ‘truth’ from the prime minister and the army chief and get “inside information” in closed-door meetings about the ‘war against terrorism’ because of confessions by former military ruler Gen Pervez Musharraf that he had allowed drone attacks.
He said there were many sensitive issues that could not be discussed at an open forum like APC.
Being one of the major stakeholders in the present set-up, he said, he wanted an exclusive briefing from the PM and the army chief.
He said his party was taking part in the July 30 presidential polls under protest because the Election Commission had not given the candidates adequate time for canvassing in the amended election schedule.
He criticised the ECP for making the presidential polls controversial.
He said that like other opposition parties he was in favour of boycotting the elections but had decided to the contrary on the plea of Justice Wajih that the field must not be left open for the PML-N.
The PTI, he said, would approach the lawmakers through their families to persuade them to vote for Justice Wajih.
Regarding his party’s allegations of rigging in the general elections, he said they were pinning hopes on the chief justice of the Supreme Court for whose restoration they had taken so much pain.
The PTI chairman said that if he felt that the CJP was no more neutral regarding his demand for a thorough probe into rigging in four constituencies and was siding with a particular party, he would give his supporters a call to take to the streets.
He said there were ample reasons for the opposition to unite on a minimum agenda, particularly because of the alleged steps the government was taking for rigging the forthcoming by-polls.
Justice Wajih said the ECP had announced the election schedule too late and that too without applying its mind on the date fixed for polling.
