The caretaker government on Tuesday said Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar’s remarks that “fair elections” were possible even without PTI Chairman Imran Khan had been “misunderstood and misreported”.
Imran, who was originally jailed for “corrupt practices” in the Toshakhana case — although his conviction has since been suspended — is currently on judicial remand in the cipher case.
In an interview with The Associated Press last week, the prime minister had said that “fair” polls were possible without Imran and his party leaders, who were jailed as part of a state crackdown in the aftermath of violent riots across the country on May 9.
PM Kakar had also stated that thousands of PTI members, who were not a part of “unlawful activities”, “will be running the political process” and “participating in the elections”.
The PTI had rejected the premier’s remarks, saying elections without Imran would be “unconstitutional and illegal”.
Meanwhile, in a statement issued a day earlier, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) had taken strong exception to PM Kakar’s remarks. It called the prime minister’s claims “anti-democratic” and “ill-judged”.
“The prime minister should be aware that it is not for him or his government to decide unilaterally what constitutes a ‘fair’ election,” the commission had further highlighted.
In a clarification issued today, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said PM Kakar was “plain speaking to suggest that whereas participating in the elections was a right, but retribution for crimes was legally warranted”.
The ministry said the interview had been “twisted by some outlets” to give the impression that someone would not be allowed to take part in the general elections.
The government drew attention to the following text of PM’s interview: “We are not pursuing anyone on a personal vendetta. But yes, we will ensure that the law is appropriate. Anyone, be it Imran Khan or any other politician who violates, in terms of their political behaviour, the laws of the country, then the restoration of the law has to be ensured. We cannot equate that with … political discrimination.”
The Information Ministry reiterated in its statement that the PTI and its leaders were free to participate in the elections like any other party. “It has been clarified that there is no impediment to contesting elections by any leader of PTI or the party as a whole.”
The statement further added that every citizen was equal before the law and the law would take its course with respect to any person currently facing legal charges.
“The courts are free and independent and the caretaker government has neither authority nor intention to influence the courts at any level,” the statement noted, clarifying that any person aggrieved by any order or ruling of a statutory or judicial forum had a constitutionally guaranteed right to approach the next forum in judicial hierarchy for relief.
“The caretaker government is committed to holding free and fair elections. The caretaker government will support the constitutional and legal structure for holding elections and would ensure that all orders and directions of the Election Commission of Pakistan and independent judiciary are complied with in letter and spirit,” the statement added.
‘No institutional favour to any party in polls’
Meanwhile, in an interview with TRT World, PM Kakar termed Pakistan as a transitional democracy and assured that the electoral process would be neutral, fair, and free.
He stressed that there would not be any “organisational or institutional involvement”, either in favour of one person or a political group.
On protests by PTI supporters, he said a protest, if it remained peaceful, was their basic and democratic right.
“The government will try to protect the democratic right of any political party be, it PTI, PML-N and PPP,” he said. However, he stressed that any kind of vandalism in the name of protests would not be allowed.
To a question on civil-military relations, he said to ensure functional governance, the civilian institutions had been relying on the military due to its organisational capabilities and to deal with day-to-day challenges in multiple areas, including health, education, disaster management and tax revenue collection.
Kakar said civil institutions needed to enhance their capability to improve service delivery.
