PTI can't blackmail govt over snap polls, says Ayaz Sadiq.

ISLAMABAD -- Minister for Economic Affairs Sardar Ayaz Sadiq on Monday declared on the floor of the National Assembly in categorical terms that the coalition government would not succumb to any 'blackmailing' tactics by PTI chairman Imran Khan for holding of general election in the country before time.

'If he [Imran Khan] thinks that he can get elections from us through blackmailing and by putting pistol on our forehead then it will not happen,' said the minister while speaking on a point of order as the lower house of parliament met after a two-day recess to resume a general debate on the federal budget.

The minister, who has also been assigned the additional responsibility of assisting Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on political and parliamentary affairs, took the floor to 'condemn' President Dr Arif Alvi over his act of returning the electoral reforms bill to parliament without his assent.

'We used to consider him [Dr Alvi] a democratic and a fair person,' said Mr Sadiq, asking Dr Alvi to become president of Pakistan, instead of the PTI.

Mr Sadiq, who belongs to the ruling PML-N, said the president should make decisions in line with the country's laws and Constitution and not take dictations from the PTI chairman.

He also ridiculed the president over his objections to the electoral reforms bill which the government had passed to repeal the changes made by the PTI government in the election laws regarding the use of electronic voting machines (EVMs) and i-voting for overseas Pakistanis.

The PML-N stalwart said that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) was a major stakeholder and it had already expressed its reservations over the use of EVMs and i-voting. Moreover, he recalled, Dr Alvi was also a member of the parliamentary committee that had held 117 meetings on the issue and he had even visited two countries to observe EVMs.

Similarly, he said, former chief justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar had also issued an order overriding the Constitution for allowing overseas Pakistanis to vote through internet. The trial run, however, remained a failure, he added.

After attacking the president, Mr Sadiq turned his guns towards former prime minister Imran Khan and castigated him for allegedly attacking the country's institutions like army, judiciary and ECP. He said Mr Khan wanted to see the institutions working at his whims which was not possible.

The...

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