December 03, 2007	Monday	Ziqa'ad 22, 1428

LAHORE, Dec 2: Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan has urged PML-N chief Mian Nawaz Sharif to stick to his `popular’ decision of boycotting the elections as a mere three-week campaign cant secure him a majority in the next National Assembly.

Speaking at a meet-the-press programme at the Lahore Press Club here on Sunday, he said parties participating in the elections would validate the unconstitutional actions of General (r) Pervez Musharraf and be guilty of treason.

Khan said a number of political parties were trying to put the future of country at stake by supporting the forces of status quo for their vested interests. At one stage Benazir Bhutto had stated that the elections would be rigged and Musharraf was not acceptable with or without uniform but she later changed her stance after meeting US deputy secretary of state Mr Negroponte, he said. Similarly, he said, Maulana Fazlur Rehman had earlier been demanding reinstatement of deposed judges of superior courts.

He said the parties participating in the general elections would be playing on the pitch of the dictator who himself had confessed during a television interview he had violated the Constitution.

He said the government was holding elections for establishing its credibility in the eyes of the West. A collective boycott of elections would render the whole electoral exercise meaningless and the government would have no option but to hold fresh polls, he said.

He endorsed the stance of civil society that participation in election would be tantamount to backstabbing the superior court judges who were being persecuted for refusing to take oath under the PCO.

He said the All Parties Democratic Movement had decided to boycott elections because of the pressure from the electorate. Criticising Ms Bhutto’s and Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s view that boycott would leave the field open for their opponents he questioned the performance of the assemblies they were dying to join. He pointed out military operation was in progress in Wazirastan, Swat and Balochistan at the end of the tenure of the assemblies and $10 billion coming from US during the tenure of Musharraf government had remained unaccounted for. He wondered no one had questioned the plans to build the new GHQ on 2,500 acre prime land in Islamabad and the lowest every (1.7 per cent) allocation for education sector in Pakistan.

He said the PTI had no regrets for deciding to boycott general elections.

Pakistan would have a bright future in case the deposed judges of superior courts were restored, he said and added Pervez Musharraf wanted the people to forget that 60 per cent judges had not taken the oath under the November 3 PCO. Attorney General Justice (r) Muhammad Qayyum was trying to become `new Sharifuddin Pirzada’ by hoodwinking the people and telling them the deposed judges had taken oath under the first PCO issued by Pervez Musharraf. He said the first PCO was in conformity with the Constitution but the second one was judiciary specific. It had been promulgated by the dictator due to the fear that the judiciary had discarded the law of necessity and was not ready to act in accordance with his will, he added. He said the judges who had taken oath under the November 3 PCO had no locus standi under the Constitution because they had made a commitment to obey General (r) Pervez Musharraf.

Answering questions, he said that he had torn the nomination papers following the APDM decision to boycott the elections. The Tehrik, he said, had not changed its stance. He said he was not power hungry like Dr Sher Afgan Niazi who changed his loyalty to become a minister.

He advised Benazir Bhutto to stand with the people and the deposed judges for restoration of the Constitution and real democracy. If she had agreed to contest elections to avoid one billion dollar alleged corruption cases, he said he would himself go to the people and ask them to forgive her.