PESHAWAR: Prime Minister-in-waiting and PTI chairman Imran Khan on Tuesday warned that he would replace Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s next chief minister and ministers if they failed to deliver the goods within three to six months of assuming office.

Addressing a meeting of the party’s MPAs-elect at a local hotel, he asked lawmakers not to lobby to claim the chief minister’s office and said he would name the next chief executive of the province soon.

In a lighter vein, Mr Imran said he could make a mistake in making the right choice for the chief minister’s office.

PTI chief says expenses of PM, president offices to be curtailed

The PTI chief said the party’s government would ‘tactfully’ handle the issue of going for the International Monetary Fund bailout package to overcome economic problems.

“Pakistan faces many economic issues and we (government) will have to do a lot work to address them,” he said.

The premier-in-waiting said the PTI government would form a committee to propose measures for tangibly reducing the expenditure of the offices of the prime minister, president and ministers.

He took a swipe at his predecessors, claiming the former rulers mostly focused their attention on improving own lot.

He said the PTI would change the people’s lot in the next five years, which required a lot of efforts.

Mr Imran said the country couldn’t be changed until the people rendered sacrifices.

“We have to introduce more reforms in local body system and will work more in the education and police department,” he said.

The prime minister-in-waiting said the Naya (new) Pakistan was in the making and therefore, he hoped that the elected representatives wouldn’t let him down and would discharge the assigned tasks diligently.

“All ministers will be held accountable for their actions,” he said.

Mr Imran said the chief ministers and ministers won’t be entitled to any discretionary funds.

He said the ministers would be given targets related to their departments with deadlines to achieve them and that all ministers would ensure their presence in the respective offices in the morning.

As the last provincial assembly witnessed several adjournments due to a lack of quorum during the PTI-led government, the prime minister-in-waiting asked the party’s MPAs to regularly attend the house to ensure smooth legislation.

He asked the party’s nominees for the provincial assembly seats reserved for women to prepare well before going to the provincial assembly.

PTI senior leader and MPA-elect Shah Farman later told reporters that the party had emerged the single largest party in the province after the July 25 general elections and would have a majority in the next provincial assembly to form government on its own.

He said there was no need to name the chief minister in haste.

Mr Farman said the party had convened the meeting of the elected MPAs just to deliberate on the future line of action for its upcoming government in the province.

Published in Dawn, August 8th, 2018