November 7, 2002	Thursday	Ramazan 1,1423

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ISLAMABAD, Nov 6: Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan on Wednesday expressed fears that doctoring the democratic process would lead to a major political catastrophe reminiscent of the 1971 crisis.

In a statement he said that the return of undiluted constitutional rule should be the first priority of all political parties and the government. The Parliament was the right forum to elect governments and any postponement of National Assembly session would lead to a deepening of the political stalemate, encourage wheeling and dealing and create more political uncertainty, he observed.

The PTI chief demanded that the process of transfer of power should begin without any delay and the Senate election schedule should be announced.

He said that the national interest demanded that the democratic process should be allowed to proceed unhindered.

Mr Khan also blamed the unprecedented engineering of the electoral process as the main factor for the hung parliament and the present stalemate.

Doctoring the political process including the election results to achieve a fine balance, which could be tilted at any time to achieve desired results, had led to the present political uncertainty, he observed.

He also criticized the role of the state controlled electronic media which was undermining the democratic process by discrediting the politicians and the political process.

The PTI leader said that despite the electoral manipulation the verdict of the people should be respected even though it may not be fully in line with the wishes of the establishment.

He urged the politicians to rise above personal and party interests and forge a national consensus on key issues like the restoration of Pakistan’s sovereignty through unfettered constitutional rule, supremacy of the Parliament and rule of law through a completely independent judiciary.

He said that the Parliament was the forum to elect an government and once the National Assembly was convened, the political parties would automatically make their choices leading to the formation of a government that would command a majority.

It was not unusual in democracies to have governments with razor thin majority, he said, adding: “The governments come and go through a democratic process but this does not mean sidelining democratic institutions such as the parliament.”