ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) has criticised the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) for continuously “maligning the institutions of the judiciary and armed forces in an effort to make the July 25 general elections controversial”.

Speaking at a news conference here on Monday, PTI information secretary Fawad Chaudhry and Senator Faisal Javed declared that their party wanted to see the elections on time and they would not tolerate any delay in it.

Mr Chaudhry alleged that former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam and their cronies were continuously presenting a narrative only to make the elections disputed.

“There have been concerted and organised efforts to make the results of the elections controversial,” he said.

Spokesman says after failing to harm Imran Khan, now PML-N has shifted its focus to army and judiciary

The PTI leader criticised Mr Sharif for issuing a statement in London in which he had accused the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) of preventing PML-N candidates from participating in the elections. “He (Mr Sharif) is constantly criticising the army,” he said, alleging that there were linkages between “the PML-N’s media cell and the foreign press”.

Mr Chaudhry said the PML-N first tried to use Reham Khan and then brought former chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry to damage the PTI and Imran Khan, but all their efforts failed.

“After failing to harm Imran Khan, now they (PML-N leaders) have put their focus on the army and judiciary. We strongly condemn Nawaz Sharif and his narrative,” he said. He claimed that it was due to this narrative of the PML-N and its leaders that Pakistan was today facing economic difficulties and even the country had been put on the grey list of the Financial Action Task Force.

The PTI leader said there were reports that the PML-N was weighing the option of boycotting the polls, but claimed that they would not do it.

He said the failed economic policies of the PML-N government were responsible for the recent price hike and an unprecedented increase in oil prices.

Although the PTI leaders expressed concern over the failure of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in changing the provincial governors and stopping “use of hate material during the election campaign”, they said the party would continue to cooperate with the commission with the hope that it would be able to hold the elections in a peaceful manner.

Mr Chaudhry spoke about the hate material available on social media which was being used for electioneering. He said that a number of parties were running their campaigns on the basis of religious sects, but the ECP was seeing all this as a silent spectator, instead of directing the Federal Investigation Agency to take action against the responsible persons. He reiterated his party’s call for changing the provincial governors appointed by the previous PML-N government.

He asked the protesting tribal people to go back to their homes and vote for the PTI, which would ensure merger of Fata with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and elections on the provincial assembly seats of Fata soon after coming to power following the July 25 elections.

Published in Dawn, July 3rd, 2018