NewsJuly 27, 2018
‘Ready for recount to rest fears of rigging’
ISLAMABAD: In his first speech after victory in the general elections, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Thursday offered to fully cooperate with the opposition parties over investigation into the alleged rigging in polls.
Imran, clad in white kurta-shalwar, who is poised to become the prime minister within the next few days, outlined the priorities of his party’s government on the domestic and foreign fronts and made certain pledges with the nation.
Giving a message of reconciliation to the opposition that during his government’s tenure, there would be no political victimisation, he said “our cause is larger than ourselves. The country needs unity among us.” Imran emphasised that he wants to serve the nation on the principles of the State of Madina, set up by the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him).
He said the accountability would start from him, then his ministers would face it and others afterwards. He promised not to work or reside in the Prime Minister’s House and that his government would decide about the utility of the sprawling facility. “The PM House is a royal palace; I will feel ashamed to sit there,” he remarked. The governor houses, he added, would be turned into public facilities.
Terming the 2018 elections as the most transparent and fair in Pakistan’s history, Imran pledged to fully cooperate in scrutinising as many constituencies as the opposition parties wanted. The PTI chairman said he faced the most scathing attacks on his personal life, but had forgotten that; this is being seen as an olive branch to his rivals.
Referring to the malnourished children and 45 percent population living below the poverty line, he promised that the major focus of his government would be how to improve the plight of the oppressed and weakest segments of the society, including minorities, and to fight poverty. Imran promised to run Pakistan in an entirely different manner, ensuring the rule of law and bringing about significant improvements in governance and restructuring the state institutions, including the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and the anti-corruption bodies.
On foreign affairs, the PTI chairman admitted that foreign policy was a major challenge (for his government). He expressed his desire to improve relations with all the neighbouring countries, including emphasised that “if India takes one step towards us, we will take two steps towards them. Right now, it is one-sided where India is constantly just blaming us”. He said Pakistan was prepared for dialogue with New Delhi.
The PTI chief contended that the leadership of Pakistan and India now needed to come to the table to resolve this and end blame games. “We are stuck at square one," he asserted and believed that to improve the economic situation and lift standard of lives of peoples in the Sub-Continent trade between Pakistan and India was imperative.
"Kashmir remains the core issue while the people of Kashmir have suffered massively. When the armed forces are dispatched to settled areas, this leads to human rights abuses,” he said.
Imran said the core issue be resolved on table. He said the issue would remain unresolved if allegations and counter-allegations kept hovering around. “Relations should be improved. You take one step; we shall take two. You just take one step,” he said to Indian leadership.
Imran appeared unhappy over the way Indian media portrayed him during his election campaign. "I was disappointed with how Indian media portrayed me in the past few weeks. I felt like a Bollywood villain," he remarked. On this occasion, he said, “We need better relations with our neighbours so that we could focus on nation building.”
About Pakistan’s relations with the United States, Imran said, “We want to work on a policy that is mutually beneficial. Not a one-way relationship as there needs to be balance unlike in the past.”
With regards to China, the PTI chief said, "We will strengthen and further improve our relations with China. We want to work towards success of CPEC, as this offers an opportunity for economic betterment, investment and job creation. We also want to send teams to learn poverty alleviation from China, as they pulled 700 million people out of poverty in 30 years."
He also said that Pakistan could learn from China on how they curbed corruption. He pointed out in China during the last four years, 400 corrupt ministers had been nabbed.
Imran linked peace in Pakistan with peace in Afghanistan and said that they would try utmost for bringing about peace in the war-torn country. “We will want open border between Pakistan and Afghanistan, as among the European countries,” he said.
The PTI chairman praised Saudi Arabia for siding with Pakistan at every crucial juncture and pledged to push for conciliation in the Middle East instead of opting for any other step. He also wished further improved relations with Iran.
“We want to improve our relations with Saudi Arabia as well as Iran. We want to work as a reconciliation facilitator in the region. A country that works towards ending wars rather than being used for them," he remarked.
Imran said he would be the same Imran Khan, who pledged to protect citizens' money and change the system of elite governance. "We will focus on education and vocational skills to empower our youth. Our focus will be on human development," he maintained.
"We have to work with our businesses, facilitate them so they are able to facilitate jobs. So my second pledge is to collect and reform taxes. We will convert governor houses into public spaces that are able to collect revenue," he added.
Speaking about the current economic situation, Imran said, "In our history we have not seen such a big fiscal deficit and trade deficit, and the unprecedented rupee depreciation.” He said the PTI wants to set an example that the law will be supreme. “The West is ahead of us purely because of these principles and this must become our guiding principle. The law has to be applied without discrimination to the rich and the poor equally.”
He added, "We are witnessing the strengthening of democracy in Pakistan. The election process was completed successfully despite many terror attacks."
Imran noted that he joined politics because he wanted Pakistan to become the country that Jinnah had envisioned. “This has been a historic election. I especially want to thank the people of Balochistan, who despite terrorism came out in huge numbers to vote," he said. He promised they would focus on improving the lot of farmers and labourers, who continued to suffer due to wrong policies.
Courtesy www.thenews.com.pk
Back to Pakistanlink Home