According to former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, the long march won’t cause the PML-N-led government to dissolve.
Abbasi’s comments came a day or two after PTI Chairman Imran Khan announced the long march’s date. The long march planned by his party will begin on Friday, October 28, he said. He said that the march would begin at 11 am from Lahore’s Liberty Chowk.
Why does a long march begin each time bilateral relations with China take off, he questioned?
He stated that while PTI Chairman Imran Khan may choose to do as he pleases, the government will not change. Imran Khan is free to start a long march or keep the government in place, he insisted.
However, he issued a warning that if the custom of overthrowing the government through protracted marches becomes widespread, neither politics nor democracy would endure in the nation.
Imran Khan, according to Abbasi, lost 13 by-elections while in office.
The PML-N leader stated that the government was not formed by whoever won the Delhi seat and added that the state and constitutional institutions had a duty to support the ruling party.
The former premier advised the PTI leader to request a probe into the claims made by Senator Azam Swati, in response to a question about the allegations. He said that the investigation will not be carried out at Imran Khan’s request.
Shahid Khaqan Abbasi emphasised the need to avoid politicising the matter in reference to the passing of prominent journalist Arshad Sharif in Kenya. However, those like Imran Khan profit from them by not ignoring them, He said.
If Arshad Sharif had given him a heads-up, Imran Khan should have discussed the matter sooner, he claimed. “Two provinces are under the control of Imran Khan. But he was unable to provide him with security.”
The PML-N leader said that because the subject was also discussed in the Kenyan Parliament, the Kenyan government also wants a comprehensive probe into the unlawful killing.
He asserted that Pakistan’s foreign ministry will investigate the event in cooperation with the Kenyan authorities. He continued by saying that the government commission would determine the circumstances surrounding Arshad Sharif’s forced departure.
