LAHORE: PML-N information secretary Senator Mushahidullah Khan has called for holding general elections immediately and urged the PPP-led government to announce the date and form a caretaker government in consultation with the leader of opposition.

“Because of the bad governance we believe that the elections must be held immediately.

“And we want that the prime minister should immediately contact the leader of opposition for constituting the caretaker set-up to hold free and fair elections,” the PML-N leader said at a press conference here on Sunday.

He said his party planned to file a defamation suit against those who had accused PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif of receiving money from the ISI.

“We are waiting for the detailed judgment of the Supreme Court in the Asghar Khan case.

“And we will sue those who accused our party chief of receiving money from the ISI,” he said.

Mushahidullah Khan, who was accompanied by the party’s media coordinator Mohammad Mehdi, said the PPP and former president Musharraf had always used Asad Durrani against the PML-N leadership.

“As Mr Durrani is very close to the PPP and Musharraf, he submitted a statement against Mian Sahib in the Asghar Khan case,” he said, adding Mr Sharif had never received money from the ISI or any other agency.

Talking about the apex court’s recent orders on the issue of governance in Balochistan and Sindh, Mr Khan said the governments in the two provinces had lost their right to rule.

“The Balochistan government is stationed in Islamabad having no control over the worsening law and order.

“It has been looting development funds worth billions, causing bad governance and constitutional crisis in the province,” he said. “Therefore, it has no right to rule further keeping in view the present scenario.”

Similarly, he said, the Sindh government also had failed to maintain peace in the province.

He recalled that governor’s rule had been imposed in Sindh in 1997 when the PML-N was in power.

“In our tenure in the past we didn’t try to save our government in Sindh and imposed governor’s rule there for the sake of peace. So the rulers should follow our actions to save Karachi,” he said.

Mr Khan said the situation had forced everyone in the city to become victim of extortion. Traders are feeling insecure and protesting against the government.

“About 100 traders were kidnapped for ransom and that has forced the business community to take the streets and protest,” he said.

He said efforts were under way to choose a right person, preferably from a small province (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa or Balochistan) for the post of caretaker premier.

He said democracy didn’t mean to prolong the rule for vested interests amid massive corruption.