ISLAMABAD: The core committee of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) on Friday called upon President Dr Arif Alvi to exercise his powers and announce the polls date without delay to end the “chaotic and uncertain situation that gripped the country since the regime change conspiracy” last year.

The demand came at a meeting of the core committee that passed a unanimous resolution to this effect.

The party said that powers and sovereignty under the Constitution were reserved for people who exercised them through their elected public representatives.

It observed that Pakistan was passing through the most critical phase of its history in which the country was grappling with very complex problems at the constitutional, political, democratic, administrative, economic and social levels.

The PTI claimed that the “undemocratic” and “unconstitutional move” of the regime change conspiracy in April 2022 had caused the current widespread chaos and turmoil in the state structure and governance.

The core committee recalled that the assemblies of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were dissolved on Jan 14 and Jan 18, 2023, respectively. However, the-then PDM government avoided holding elections in 90 days in sheer violation of the Constitution.

The meeting said that by defying the Supreme Court’s April 4 decision the previous government opened the door of constitutional violation on one hand, while on the other it caused deep distress in the nation.

The meeting reiterated that establishment of a democratic government was a constitutional requirement and the need of the hour, which was the sole and only answer to the multifaceted crises facing Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, September 9th, 2023