Pakistan may consider early elections, says PMLN minister after Khan's PTI win in Punjab

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader and Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said that early elections were on the cards after former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) won the Punjab bypolls. However, Sanaullah noted that a decision will only be finalised following the discussion with the coalition parties. 

During a press conference in Lahore, the PML-N leader said, “The decision will be made after we present the matter before the parties”. While responding to PTI’s landslide victory, Pakistan's Interior Minister said that PML-N was “moving forward by accepting the results”, according to a report by Dawn. 

Notably, Khan’s PTI bagged a significant victory in the by-elections on 20 Punjab Assembly seats. PTI candidates emerged victorious in Multan, Dera Ghazi Khan, Sahiwal, and Khushab provincial assembly seats. PTI also took a clear majority in 15 constituencies of the province. Sanaullah said, “The 20 seats do not challenge or measure the PML-N’s popularity as the candidates who were electioneering for these constituencies were not ours”.

Likewise, PML-N Vice-President Maryam Nawaz, Sanaullah even noted that the party requires upping the ante on discussions and introspections prior to the elections. Pakistani Interior Minister expressed discontentment with PTI’s choice of Punjab Assembly Speaker Parvez Elahi as a candidate for the Chief Minister post. According to Sanaullah, Elahi is “neither democratic nor tolerant and does not respect anyone”.

Sanaullah criticises Khan over suggesting CEC to resign

Moreover, Sanaullah criticised Khan after the latter called on the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikander Sultan Raja to resign. Former Pakistan PM had also claimed that PTI won the by-elections despite the misuse of state machinery. The country’s Interior Minister noted that Khan has been attacked CEC since the commission reserved its verdict on PTI’s foreign funding case. Sanaullah said, “You [Imran Khan] blackmail institutions just to get your own way” while adding that PML-N denounces Khan’s blackmailing. Sanaullah said, “We stand with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).”

The PML-N leader said that “this crazy person is still talking about elections getting rigged even after winning them,” as per the media report “Would you [Imran Khan] believe in transparent elections only if you had won 20 out of 20 seats?” asked Sanaullah. 

Image: AP/ANI