Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf ready to play a parliamentary role: Former Foreign Minister

The remarks by Qureshi came in response to Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari's statement against PTI chief Imran Khan.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is ready to play a parliamentary role but the government in power is not ready to give a date for the general elections, said former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, reported Geo News. The remarks by Qureshi came in response to Pakistan People's Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari's statement against PTI chief Imran Khan.

Bilawal while addressing a gathering in Garhi Khuda Bakhsh on the 15th death anniversary of his mother and former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, asked Khan to return to the Parliament as neither he nor his party "could bear" what was coming to them. Bilawal said it was the final warning to the puppet to return to the Parliament and join the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and election reforms. "I do not want the NAB to be used against Imran Khan. Therefore, he should come back to the Parliament," he said, reported Geo News.

In response to Bilawal's statements, senior PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry called PPP leaders "the puppets of the establishment". "The puppets of the establishment set up a farce at the mausoleum of Benazir Bhutto today," Chaudhry wrote in a tweet.

"According to Fawad, the country currently has only one federal party and a single leader which is PTI and its chairman. Imran Khan's call is being heard across the country, he said, adding that his call is resonating from the mountains of Chagai to the Khyber, and from Lahore to Karachi," according to Geo News. Recently, Khan criticised the Pakistan Democratic Movement-led government for "pushing the nation towards terror incidents." He made the remarks during a consultative meeting attended by the party's senior leadership and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid's leader Moonis Elahi.

"The imposed, corrupt and incompetent rulers are pushing the nation towards [terror] incidents," The News International quoted Imran Khan as saying. Imran Khan criticized Pakistan People's Party Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on national security. His statement regarding terrorism comes at a time when Pakistan is witnessing an increase in terror attacks, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

"Leaving national security at the mercy of [Asif] Zardari's politically-immature son is criminal stupidity," The News International quoted Imran Khan as saying. As per The News International report, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has been witnessing hostage situations in Bannu's Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD). Furthermore, cross-border attacks and bombings have been seen in Balochistan.

Criticizing the incumbent government, Khan told them to stop benefiting from the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRS) and called for snap elections, according to The News International. He emphasised that only a government with a public mandate can handle Pakistan's economy. "Only a government with a public mandate will be able to manage the economy," Imran Khan said. (ANI)

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