Imran warns govt of ‘tsunami march’ if judiciary maligned

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan warned the government on Saturday to stop maligning the superior judiciary, failing which the PTI would launch a “tsunami march” against the government and in support of the judiciary.
Addressing a press conference following the Central Executive Committee (CEC) meeting of his party held here at a local hotel, Khan said the independent judiciary and media were obligatory in order to make democracy the best ruling system, but the government was trying to destroy the judiciary to perpetuate its corruption.
At the CEC meeting, Air Marshal Asghar Khan also announced the merger of his party, the Tehreek-e-Istaqlal, with the PTI, saying his party completely endorsed the principled politics pursued by Imran Khan’s party. Asghar also appealed to the Supreme Court to hear his petition regarding the distribution of money to some politicians, including Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Nawaz Sharif, by the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) before the 1990 elections.
Imran Khan also asked the apex court on his party’s behalf to hear the case and to bring the facts in front of the public. “If ISI has distributed money among politicians, it should be held accountable so that no such step can be taken again in future,” he said.
The CEC meeting noted with concern the ongoing political crisis created by the government by not implementing the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) decision of the Supreme Court. The committee observed that the prime minister and other members of the ruling party were attacking all institutions, including the Supreme Court, to hide their loot and plunder, resolving that if the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) government tried to destroy the court and deny this nation the rule of law, it would be a direct assault on democracy that would be resisted by the PTI.
Imran Khan, however, said the PML-N should resign at once from the National Assembly and Punjab Assembly if it really wanted to get rid of this government.
Commenting on the Balochistan unrest, he said his party would cooperate with Baloch leaders before the PTI’s grand public meeting in Quetta, which would be held in March. He said he was committed to working for the welfare of the Baloch people, saying after coming into power his party would work in Balochistan according to the people’s wish. He also said he supported the formation of new provinces.
Imran announced that he would move the courts against electoral lists and said the last general elections were fraudulent since, according to the Election Commission, 45 percent of voters in that election were bogus.