General elections will be held in July, says PM Abbasi
Prime Minister Abbasi asserted that it's not the job of armed forces to guarantee holding of general elections
January 23, 2018
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said on Tuesday that general elections in the country will be held in July this year.
Speaking to senior journalists, the premier said: "We won't leave government even a second before our mandated time period.”
The prime minister asserted that it is not the job of armed forces to guarantee the holding of the general elections, adding that it has been decided by the National Security Committee that elections will be held on time.
According to Prime Minister Abbasi, the media and judiciary were not independent in Pakistan.
Prime Minister Abbasi said that the character and previous work of a person must be inspected before his/her appointment as a judge.
“Whenever a judge is appointed, he retires as a judge. There are precedents of people being appointed as judges in the past, who did not deserve the post,” he added.
Abbasi said that in case Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz wins the next elections, party leader Nawaz Sharif will decide about the next prime minister.
He said that the Supreme Court's decision to oust Nawaz was not accepted by the people of Pakistan and neither history will accept it.
"Nawaz Sharif is still my prime minister," he asserted.
The premier added that the National Accountability Bureau references have no link with the National Assembly.
“There is no danger to the system, neither to us. I have authority to dissolve the assembly. Whenever my party will advise me, I will do it,” he remarked.
PM questioned that how can an unelected government work better than the elected one, adding that the people of Pakistan have given the PML-N the mandate and the party has always fought in every given circumstance.
Earlier, while speaking on a private news channel, Director-General Inter-Services Public Relations Major General Asif Ghafoor said that there is no danger to democracy as long as the fruits of democracy reach the people.
In regards to the upcoming general elections, the military spokesman said that the Army will follow all instructions, within the limits of the Constitution, pertaining to elections.
