Can early elections bring any stability to Pakistan?

It is my view that we have to go for general elections very soon. However, for this to happen the b opposition parties would first need to introduce electoral reforms and legislations to make sure that the future elections are held in a free, fair and transparent fashion. While contesting elections is not at all an issue, the system must first be fixed. The opposition parties have completed their homework for the formation of a coalition government and all the component parties of the Opposition have finalised each and every thing in this regard.

The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf (PTI) government has managed to ruin the political system in the country and, therefore, it would take a long time to correct all the wrongs they had done to the system and the economy of Pakistan. Meanwhile, the opposition parties have completed the number game. We have garnered enough support to meet the necessary numbers of votes to oust Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Therefore, it would be better for him to gracefully step down to pave the way for the opposition parties to form the government. However, I know he is not capable of showing that  type of grace – we will have to boot him out through the power of votes in the Parliament.

After that it is an uphill battle. We have to clean up the mess created by the PTI led government. In this regard, following the ouster of the PM, the opposition will remove the Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaiser, Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani and then finally the President of Pakistan Dr Arif Alvi.

It is our goal to try and accomplish all these tasks on the fast track, but ultimately they have to go to the people of Pakistan for taking fresh mandate for the next five years.

All the opposition parties are on same page and have clearly defined the future roadmap for the coalition government.

Their aim is to put things in right frame and work towards providing relief to the people of Pakistan, who have suffered greatly under the negligence of this government, in the next budget which will be the first challenge before them.

Obviously, all of us want to see fresh elections in the country at the earliest, but we cannot give any timeline for the next general elections just yet. However, none of the opposition parties have a lust for power and all we want is to correct the wrong doings of the PTI government.

The PTI politician have done great damage to country’s institutions and its economy, which would inevitably take a long time to mend.

“The government will indeed complete its mandated term”

Sheikh Rashid Shafique, PTI Leader

I am certain that the PTI will turn the tables on their political opponents and defeat the no-confidence motion in the Parliament. Though there are voices from all sides, including from within the party, to hold early elections the government will indeed complete its mandated term, as was mentioned by our leader PM Imran Khan. There is no need of holding early elections. This is because after presenting the upcoming budget the government will enter the last year of its term which will be the election year and the time when all political parties would have to go to the people of Pakistan and ask for their vote on the basis of their performance to have a fresh mandate.

Actually the opposition parties knew it well that the PTI government has overcome the major economic issues faced by the country and has brought the nation’s economy to a position where the government would be able to provide relief to the people of Pakistan in the coming year. This is why they want to dislodge the government before it can help the common people and create a lasting, tangible impact on their lives. Actually, the opposition parties have been unnerved by the fabulous performance of PM Imran Khan’s government.

Snap elections will not give strength to the government as they do not elicit sustainable policies for the betterment of Pakistan. Instead, political governments should be given time to complete their mandated term so that they could implement their development agenda and then go to people on the basis of their performance. However, unfortunately, we are surrounded by an opposition that seeks to disrupt the political order for their own personal gains.

As of right now, the country’s exports are going up and the mega-projects initiated by the PTI government are near completion. The prudent steps taken by the government have started yielding results and the opposition knows this. Fearful of no longer being able to lie their way into power the opposition parties have reacted hysterically.

The opposition parties can obviously not digest all the great work being done by the PTI and that was the reason they conspired against their government to bring it down through a no-trust motion for which they had indulged in massive horse-trading.

The opposition parties’ move to dislodge the government is a conspiracy against the people of Pakistan and their journey toward progress and prosperity.

For the first time in the history of the country, the PTI government has addressed the basic problems facing the people of Pakistan by introducing a truly brilliant health card facility, implementing the Appna Ghar scheme and many more public welfare oriented projects.

“None of the opposition parties is power hungry”

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, PML-N leader

Yes. Ultimately we have to go for early elections but the final decision in this regard will be taken by the joint opposition leadership.

PM Imran Khan has lost the mandate of the house and he should honourably step down to pave the way for the smooth transfer of power to the joint opposition parties. There are no differences among the leadership of the opposition parties on formation of the future government as their aim is to put the country on the right track and to clear the mess created by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government over three and half years in power.

The main aim of the opposition parties’ coalition government will be to make some necessary legislation regarding the electoral reforms and some other issues of immediate attention, including the economic quick-fix before deciding about the holding of next general elections.

Ultimately the political parties have to go to the people of Pakistan for fresh mandate and it would definitely bring stability to the system. But exactly when these elections would be announced, the opposition leadership would decide after consultation.

Since the opposition parties have already nominated PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif as their candidate for the slot of Prime Minister, it would be his prerogative to select his team to run the affairs of the government during the interim period. Obviously the decision about the cabinet formation and other important matters would be taken collectively by the joint opposition leadership.

They have already worked out a roadmap for dealing with the major issues facing the country, both on political and economic fronts, and they would resolve these issues with the collective wisdom of the joint opposition. As their focus is to steer the country out of the prevailing crises and none of the opposition parties was power hungry so the things would become easier for them.

The ultimate target of the coalition government would be to hold free and fair elections in the country for which all necessary measures would be taken.

But at the same time they would not ignore the other issues mainly economic problems facing the people. They would try to provide relief to the people though better management and handling of the things which Imran Khan and his team completely lacked.

The upcoming budget would be one of the major tasks before their government but hoped that with a strong economic team they would try to come up with people’s friendly budget and try to provide maximum relief to the people.