Court to decide whether PTI Chief Imran Khan to participate in polls or not: Kakar

 Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar has said that the court will decide whether Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leaders including Imran Khan will participate in the general elections or not, the 24NewsHD TV channel.

In a meeting with Afzal Chaudhry and Mazhar Barlas in London, he said all political parties will participate in the elections. However, the fate of the PTI leaders would be decided by the court.

To a question, he replied that he did not have any meetings with the politicians.

In an interview with The Associated Press last Friday, Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar said that free and fair polls could proceed even in the absence of incarcerated PTI Chairman, Imran Khan, currently serving a three-year sentence in Attock jail.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has recently announced that the general elections are slated to take place by the end of January 2024.

Kakar expressed, "Free and fair elections can take place without [Imran] Khan or hundreds of members of his party who are jailed because they engaged in unlawful activities including vandalism and arson."

The upheaval of May 9th saw riots erupting across the country following the arrest of the deposed prime minister in connection with a £190 million settlement case. Consequently, numerous PTI activists and senior leaders found themselves incarcerated for their involvement in acts of violence and attacks on military installations.

The protests witnessed acts of aggression against both civil and military installations, including Jinnah House and the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi.

Subsequently, the military designated May 9th as a "Black Day" and opted to try the protesters under the Army Act.

Prime Minister Kakar reiterated that those PTI activists currently serving prison sentences were implicated in acts of arson, vandalism, and other illegal activities. He added, "Thousands of PTI activists who did not engage in unlawful activities can participate in the upcoming elections."

In response, the PTI issued a statement expressing its strong opposition to any elections conducted without the presence of Imran Khan. PTI labeled such elections as "unacceptable, unlawful, and unconstitutional."

https://twitter.com/PTIofficial/status/1705906036027031662

The statement further emphasized that the PTI, being the "largest" political party in Pakistan, considered Imran Khan as the country's most popular leader. They firmly stated, "The PM should know that any election conducted without the involvement of Imran Khan or PTI will be unconstitutional, illegal, and immoral which the people will never accept."

 Additionally, the PTI called upon Prime Minister Kakar to promptly provide an explanation for his statement and to distance his government from any alleged plans of integration and segregation.