ISLAMABAD: The government was preparing a summary for possible proclamation of central rule, known as governor’s rule, in Punjab, said Rana Sanaullah Khan as warned to throw out the government of Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi if he was prevented from entering the province as intended by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leadership.
Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, the interior minister said the volatile political situation in the country has deteriorated after the decision of the Supreme Court to “declare” Elahi as the new chief minister.
Khan said any ban on his or other ministers’ entry into Punjab would lead to central rule in the province. “Ban on my entry in Punjab will be reason enough to impose governor’s rule,” he declared.
The minister’s statement came in response to reporters’ query about the new provincial government’s apparent plans to impose restrictions on a number of ministers including himself in an effort to pressurise the Centre to call snap elections.
Khan lamented the court decision and used the term “bench fixing” coined by his party leader Maryam Nawaz at a news conference on Monday.
The minister further bemoaned the language used by Justice Qazi Faez Isa in a letter to the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP). “Such things are really deplorable and if this is true then this is a moment of reflection for the nation as to where we are heading,” he said.
Khan said the court’s decision to not count the lawmakers’ vote was an effort to give it retrospective effect. “Never such a thing has happened as a result 25 votes were minus,” he stressed.
The minister defended his argument by quoting the decision of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) that the MPs were de-seated after PTI secretary general Asad Umar’s letter that said they violated the party’s direction.
He said the same course was taken in the run-off election for Punjab chief minister by the issuance of a letter from the party head, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain. “This has led to further complication and destabilise the political and economical situation. The dollar will continue to jump amidst this.”
“Economy and political instability will remain so when the court takes decisions against political stability,” the minister said, adding that in his view, an independent and transparent judiciary was crucial for a country’s development.
“There was never a time when the court took unbiased decisions,” he said in response to a question and called for the nation’s role in averting such an apparent trend.
Responding to a question, the minister said: “The group clergy who are in Kabul [for talks with the proscribed TTP] have not gone on a government level. But, this is in the government’s knowledge and if someone talks and if it leads to peace so such efforts should not be stopped or opposed.”
