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Wednesday, December 12, 2007

I have parted ways with Nawaz - Imran

LAHORE: 'I have parted ways with Nawaz Sharif; it is unconstitutional to contest election under PCO as it is tantamount to treason', says Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf Chief Imran Khan.

Talking exclusively to The Post he said when he was in the jail, he thought that APDM should follow PPP in case the latter participated in elections, adding that the situation had changed. He said he boycotted elections when the civil society, the lawyers and deposed judges questioned the validity of the elections. Imran said Raja Zafarul Haq, on the APDM platform, announced to boycott the elections on November 24 but later backed out of his promise when PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif, under the pressure of party workers, decided to participate in the elections. 'No doubt he has a huge and strong vote bank but he would not get any benefit from it as the results would be tempered', he said.

Imran Khan said he would talk to Nawaz Sharif after the elections, adding that drama of elections was staged to give legal validity to President Musharraf. He said many countries, including America and the UK, were playing a role in giving legal cover to the president. They are trying to make him Husani Mubarik of Pakistan, he said, adding that we would start anti-election campaign on December 18 in Islamabad. He said we were thankful to Qazi Hussain Ahmed for participating in this movement. He said we needed free and sovereign Pakistan capable of taking decisions independently. 'I have no intentions to participate in the by-elections' he said. He vowed not to become a part of a rubberstamp assembly whose members are looters of national exchequer.

Meanwhile, addressing participants of student's convention, he said the students should strengthen unity among themselves. He also said the student's action committee was ready to take action from December 25 to January 8, adding that he would resolve their inner disputes. He said the vested interests were sowing seeds of contention to offset the intensity of the movement. He further said no dictator could withstand the onslaught of the movement waged by the students. He said the aim of the movement was to take the civil society members out of the slumber. Fear of arrests could not dampen their spirits as their aim was to change the destiny of the nation, he added. The need of the time is to take every one along us in order to defeat dictatorship through struggle, he added.

Source: The Post

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