LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan has urged the government not to become part of the Yemeni conflict and said Pakistan should instead play its role in peaceful settlement of issues between the two Muslim countries.

Mr Khan was speaking to journalists after inaugurating the PTI Business Club set up under the chairmanship of former Punjab governor and PTI core committee member Chaudhry Sarwar on Friday.

Know more: Pakistan will not participate in conflict that divides Muslim Ummah: Khawaja Asif

The PTI chief said Pakistan was still facing consequences of the US-led war in the region and vehemently opposed the idea of Pakistan joining the war.

He asked the prime minister why option of letting parliament or an all-party conference decide whether Pakistan should join war in Yemen had not been exercised.

“Pakistan should play its role for peace in the region,” he added.

Mr Khan warned of street protests by his party if the PML-N government backtracked on its commitment of constituting a judicial commission to investigate alleged rigging in the 2103 general elections.

“Pakistan is still facing consequences of the US-led war in the region”

“The PTI will not enter any further dialogue on judicial commission and instead look to get its rights on the Lahore streets,” he said.

Claiming that the PML-N government was going back on its promise, Mr Khan said the PTI would not let it get away and instead compel it to constitute the commission on agreed terms of references.

“The PML-N is scared of being exposed for rigging in elections,” he commented.

He said the government was exerting pressure on the PTI to revise the memorandum of understanding (MoU) that led to the accord between the two parties on formation of the judicial commission. He said the MoU had been agreed upon after the PTI had shown maximum flexibility to reach consensus with the government’s negotiating committee.

The PTI chairman said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar should know that any delay in constituting the commission would lead the party workers to street protests and added, “it will become extremely difficult for the PML-N to continue its rule”.

Mr Khan asserted that 2015 would surely be an election year and the PTI would form its government at the centre.

He regretted that corruption was rampant in Pakistan and a `big mafia’ had been let loose to prevent changes taking place in the country.

Mr Khan said the PTI was being developed as an institution so that there should not be any nepotism and people moved up on the basis of their work and commitment.

APP adds: Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said on Friday the government stood by the agreement it had reached with the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf on the issue of judicial commission and no change had been made in it.

In a statement issued in Islamabad, Mr Dar said PTI chief Imran Khan had some misunderstanding on the issue and urged him not to believe in hearsay. “Not even a full stop or comma is changed in the agreement,” he said while responding to a statement of Mr Khan.

Published in Dawn, March 28th, 2015

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