Pakistan's coalition of ruling parties intends to use talks with the opposition as a pretext to postpone elections, Imran Khan, chairman of the Pakistan Movement for Justice party (PTI) and former Pakistani prime minister, said this on Sunday.
"No one from the Pakistan Democratic Movement (a coalition of ruling parties in Pakistan - TASS) has yet officially approached us," he was quoted as saying by the Dawn newspaper. - "My fear is that they are using these talks to postpone the elections. They are just buying time so the elections can be postponed beyond October."
Khan pointed out that the opposition is willing to negotiate with the government if the federal authorities dissolve the interim governments in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in May 2023 and also make a concrete proposal to hold elections simultaneously. His party is currently pushing for elections in Punjab to be held on May 14, 2023, in accordance with the Supreme Court ruling of April 4.
The opposition-controlled parliaments in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa completed their work early in January 2023. The dissolution was in line with the PTI's strategy to return to power in Pakistan. Khan and his supporters hoped to force the federal government of the Islamic republic to resign and set a date for general early elections to the National Assembly. However, interim governments were appointed in these regions of the country, and the Election Commission of Pakistan scheduled legislative elections for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab for April.
In March 2023, the Pakistan Election Commission postponed the Punjab voting date to October 8, 2023, due to notifications received from the Ministry of finance and security forces of "security threats and lack of funds" to ensure a "level playing field" for all political parties.
The PTI disagreed and filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court of Pakistan. The court decided to move the Punjab election date from October to May 14. The Pakistani government challenged the Supreme Court's decision and refused to provide funds for the Punjab elections if they were held next month.
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Based on materials from TASS