LAHORE: Federal Minister Mian Javed Latif of the PML-N announced that the coalition government was ready to announce early elections, provided PTI chairman Imran Khan dissolved the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assemblies where his party was in power.

“I am in favour of fresh elections. If Imran announces dissolution of the Punjab and KP assemblies, the federal government can go for early general elections,” Mr Latif told a press conference here on Monday. About the post-by-poll scenario, he said fresh general elections could right all the wrongs for the party and “guarantee survival”.

Former premier Imran Khan has made a renewed demand for early elections after sweeping Sunday’s by-polls in Punjab that have enabled him to set up his government in the province once again, dethroning Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz and installing his candidate Chaudhry Parvez Elahi.

Mr Latif also made a reference to the powers that be who, he claimed, did not allow the PML-N-led government to arrest Mr Khan. “Those (establishment) who cr eated hurdles in the arrest of Imran Khan should realise that double standards can no longer work,” he said, adding the PML-N should not carry the burden of the mistakes of institutions.

The minister said his party did not have the mandate to rule the country, but came to power through a successful vote of no-confidence against Imran Khan only to fix the economy. He also asked the party’s supreme leader Nawaz Sharif to return to the country to save the party’s politics. “Nawaz Sharif will have to come to Pakistan if he wants to save the politics of the PML-N.” He was also critical of the party leadership, saying “don’t take decisions on personal likes and dislikes, otherwise the party will face the consequences”.

Published in Dawn, July 19th, 2022