Imran rejects 'enemy of PTI' at helm in Punjab.

LAHORE -- The PTI and its key ally PML-Q have vehemently rejected the Election Commission of Pakistan's (ECP) decision to appoint opposition PML-N's nominee Mohsin Naqvi as caretaker chief minister of Punjab.

The two allies have unanimously stated that they would knock on the doors of the court and take to the streets against the electoral watchdog's decision.

'PML-N has history of selecting their own umpires but it's incredible how ECP has selected a sworn enemy of PTI as caretaker CM Punjab - a post meant for a non-partisan person,' PTI Chairman Imran Khan tweeted.

Posting a picture of Mr Naqvi's plea bargain to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) requesting that he be allowed to pay Rs3.5 million as plea bargain, Mr Khan stated in his tweet that Mr Naqvi made a voluntary return deal with the anti-graft watchdog.

Ex-PM's party, ally PML-Q to move court, take to streets to protest ECP's decision

The Supreme Court had declared in a suo motu case no. 17/2016 that a person responsible for voluntary return could not hold any public office at federal or provincial level nor in any state organisation, the PTI chief said, adding that the ECP 'has helped reduce Pakistan to a banana republic making our democracy a joke'.

Mr Khan announced that he would be holding a news conference on Monday (today) 'to expose this entire farce'.

PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry also rejected Mr Naqvi's appointment as Punjab's caretaker chief minister and announced that the PTI would launch a mass protest movement.

Calling party workers to action, Mr Chaudhry said no option had been left other than fighting against the present system on streets. 'The ECP has never disappointed,' he tweeted in a sarcastic tone.

In a separate video message, the PTI leader said his party would approach courts against Mr Naqvi's appointment. Describing the Election Commission as a subsidiary of the PML-N and the PPP, Mr Chaudhry claimed that Mr Naqvi had been tasked with delaying the elections in Punjab and to sabotage the PTI.

He said the public had lost hope in the country's institutions and would take to the streets under Imran Khan's leadership and reject decisions taken in 'closed rooms'.

Asad Umar, the PTI Secretary General, said appointing Mr Naqvi as caretaker chief minister was akin to making a mockery of the Constitution. He said the PTI would challenge the decision and hold protests against it.

The PML-Q senior leader and former federal minister Moonis Elahi told Dawn that his...