Islamabad: Beleaguered Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan on Wednesday warned that the country would descend into a civil war if elections were not announced.
“We will see if they allow us to go towards elections through legal and constitutional means otherwise this country will go towards [a] civil war,” he said in an interview with Bol News programme Tajzia, reported Dawn.
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran further said there was “no question” of returning to the National Assembly as that would “mean accepting the conspiracy” that had removed his government.
He said he was waiting for the apex court to decide on his party’s plea to provide protection to the protestors, after which he said he would issue the date for the next march, reported Dawn.
The PTI chief admitted he did not enjoy absolute power as the Prime Minister, indicating that the actual centres of power in the country lay elsewhere (military establishment) and “everyone knows where that is.”
Imran said his government had been “weak” when it came to power and had to seek coalition partners, adding that if the same situation were to arise again, he would opt for re-elections and seek a majority government or none at all.
“Our hands were tied. We were blackmailed from everywhere. Power wasn’t with us. Everyone knows where the power lies in Pakistan so we had to rely on them,” he said without elaborating any further who he was referring to.
“We relied on them all the time. They did a lot of good things too but they didn’t do many things that should’ve been done. They have the power because they control institutions such as NAB (National Accountability Bureau), which wasn’t in our control.”
He claimed that while his government had the responsibility, it did not have all the power and authority, reported Dawn.
“No management works if I have responsibility but have no complete power and authority. A system works only when responsibility and authority are in one place.”
Imran said it was imperative for the country to have a “strong army” due to the threat posed by the enemies but said there was also the need to strike a “balance” between having a strong army and a strong government.
‘If the establishment doesn’t make the right calls, the country will head towards suicide’
The PTI chief said the current political situation was a problem for the country as well as the establishment. “If the establishment doesn’t make the right decisions then I can assure in writing that (before everyone else) they and the army will be destroyed because what will become of the country if it goes bankrupt,” he said.
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