LAHORE: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf on Monday came up with another list of demands, asking the caretakers to arrest former chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, proceed against former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and have another bureaucratic reshuffle to sideline the `Sharif loyalists’.

At a press conference, party’s central information secretary Fawad Chaudhry claimed that many affectees of the Eden Housing society scam were with him and all of them demand justice. It was a scam in which the entire family of former CJ was involved, he claimed.

“His daughter, his son-in-law, his son, everyone is involved in the billions of rupee scam and must be proceeded against,” he demanded.

The former CJ, who now heads Pakistan Justice and Democratic Party, has recently challenged Imran Khan’s qualification under 62/63 clauses of the constitution for having a child outside wedlock. On Monday, the PTI mounted the counter-attack.

Demands transfer of more bureaucrats

Fawad was equally critical of the former prime minister and wanted the courts to summon him for helping ex-finance minister Ishaq Dar escape the country. Citing a video, which went viral on Sunday showing Dar walking out of a hospital in London hale and hearty, he said that courts must take note of it.

“How come that a perfectly healthy man is absconding and those who helped him run away are not being proceeded against. It was the prime ministerial plane which took him abroad, and it cannot happen without prime minister’s consent. He and his principal secretary must be made part of proceedings for helping an absconder to abscond,” he demanded.

The PTI is also not satisfied with the bureaucratic reshuffle, especially in the districts falling on the Grand Trunk (GT) Road. All loyalists of Sharifs have been posted in those districts. “It is better that the chief secretary and the inspector general of police sort it out themselves, otherwise the PTI will come up with the list of those blue-eyed bureaucrats. Similarly, there are others (like Muzaffar Ranjha, DG anti-Corruption) who have not been touched. It is better they review their recommendations before the PTI does,” Fawad said in a bitter tone.

The PTI, he said, was also aware of the hot weather which would impact voters and voting on the day. “That is why the party wants the Election Commission to change duration of the voting: it should start it at 7am and continue till 8pm for facilitating voters.”

Talking about now publicly expressed differences between two most senior leaders of the PTI (Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Jehangir Khan Tareen), he called them “mere difference of opinion, nothing serious.” Both of them are leaders and have their own opinions, which they are entitled to. “As far as the party policy is concerned, it could only come from the chief (Imran Khan).”

Flanked by Murad Ras, a local leader, Fawad Chaudhry had firsthand experience of difference when a local female leader stood up and started questioning the award of tickets.

Fawad kept his cool and explained: “There were over 4,500 applicants and only 800 tickets have been awarded. Naturally, all could not be accommodated. A mechanism was developed considering loyalty, potential to win and integrity. Some deserving people could not make it and the party and they have to live with it,” he concluded.

Published in Dawn, June 26th, 2018