Pakistan’s Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah welcomed Khan’s offer for talks. He said, “When politicians decide to do something, issues get resolved.”
Image Credit source: PTI
Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan on Friday warned that he would dissolve the assemblies of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces if the federal government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif did not announce dates for general elections by resolving issues through dialogue. . Khan, who heads the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, announced last week that his leaders would resign from the provincial assemblies. He withdrew the call to march to the capital Islamabad, saying it would have dire consequences.
Khan said, “Considering all this, I have decided that either they negotiate with us and fix the date of elections or, let’s say, about 66 per cent of Pakistan’s territory—Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab—if we dissolve the assemblies.” If we do, there will be elections. Khan’s party ‘PTI’ is in power in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Gilgit-Baltistan province. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)-led federal government has threatened to impose ‘Governor’s’ rule in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces.
Home Minister welcomed Imran’s offer
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah welcomed Khan’s offer for talks. He said, “When politicians decide to do something, issues get resolved.” Khan was removed from the post of prime minister in April this year after a no-confidence motion was passed in the National Assembly. Khan is demanding fresh general elections in Pakistan. However, the federal government headed by Prime Minister Sharif is now opposing the holding of elections. The term of the current National Assembly will end in August 2023.
Asad Majeed appointed new foreign secretary of Pakistan
At the same time, Pakistan on Friday appointed veteran diplomat Asad Majeed Khan as the new foreign secretary, whose name came to the fore in the ‘foreign conspiracy controversy’. The Foreign Office said in a tweet that Khan is currently posted as Pakistan’s ambassador to Belgium, the European Union (EU) and Luxembourg. The post fell vacant after the retirement of Sohail Mahmood in September this year, and instead of appointing a permanent foreign secretary, senior diplomat Johar Saleem was given additional charge of the foreign secretary’s office until a formal appointment to the post.
The name was revealed in ‘foreign conspiracy’
At that time it was speculated that Majeed Khan was going to be appointed for this post, but it could not happen as political tension was at its peak in the country. The ‘foreign conspiracy controversy’ was based on a cable sent by Majeed Khan from Washington, based on his meeting with Donald Lu, a senior US State Department official, about the political situation in Pakistan. This matter came to the fore when a no-confidence motion was brought against the then Prime Minister Imran Khan in Pakistan.
Imran Khan had accused
About a week before the scheduled vote in the National Assembly, Imran Khan displayed a document at a rally of his party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf in Islamabad. Through this document, Imran Khan had accused ‘foreign conspiracy’ against his government. After the defeat in the no-confidence motion, Imran Khan accused American interference for the change of power in Pakistan. Questions were also raised about the role and career of Majeed Khan as the political controversy escalated. Therefore, the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif-led government waited for normalcy to appoint the next foreign secretary.
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(with agency inputs)
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