ISLAMABAD - Former prime minister and founding chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan came under fire in the Senate on Friday for his decision to write to the IMF for linking aid to Pakistan to the audit of the recently held elections to its satisfaction.
On a point of public importance, PML-N Senator Irfan Siddiqui drew the House’s attention to the matter and asked who was Imran’s target, PML-N, PPP or any other party or the government. He said the target of this letter is the 240 million people of Pakistan adding the former premier himself had gone to the IMF during his rule but matters did not go well.
If the PML-N also had written to the IMF after the 2018 elections, Siddiqui posed a question. He said despite having concerns, the then opposition played its role in the Parliament. He recalled how a telephonic conversation between two ministers was caught in August 2022 and Fawad Chaudhry was also on record to having said that Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa would not be responsible regarding the foreign aid and would not cooperate either. “Is stopping aid for the country is patriotism? And, what kind of patriotism is this?” he added.
Coming to the recent Supreme Court decision, Senator Siddiqui said that the issue was very sensitive adding the criticism caused a wave of emotions that leads to terrorism. He pointed out that the Supreme Court and the bar councils have clarified the matter in detail, and added some people are venting personal grudges against the Chief Justice. He emphasized that this matter should not be a reason to provoke emotions. The talk on this matter, he contended, should end after it was announced to file a review petition in the apex court.
PTI Senator Zeeshan Khanzada rose to clarify that Imran Khan’s writing letter to the IMF was his principled stance that economic stability would be possible only after political stability. Shahadat Awan of the PPP explained that the apex court had only given its decision, concerning 295-C and the way investigation was conducted, as the related procedure was not adopted. He also insisted that the top court had not touched the related law.
He noted that the Supreme Court had only said that 295-C was not applicable in the case and that as per the law, an SP-level police officer could conduct inquiry, but in this case, a low-rank officer conducted inquiry. He also said that the chief justice of Pakistan had given references of Quranic verses and then also issued a statement for the satisfaction of the public. “We should not create doubts about constitutional institutions and let them function. The matter can also be referred to the House standing committee on law and justice to the satisfaction of members,” he argued.
Referring to the PTI leader’s decision to write to the IMF, Senator Awan said the national economy was already in deep trouble. He regretted that such statements could add to the country’s problems. PPP’s Rubina Khalid urged for desisting from the politics of hatred and said that all parties should admit that they had failed to provide the much-needed relief to masses. Referring to Imran’s recent announcements, she said that statements promoting anarchy and unrest should be avoided as the country had already reached a critical stage. She said if a leader commits a mistake, he should be held accountable. She asked for how long, masses would be put at risk for personal political gains.
