Feb 8 elections to create chaos in Pakistan, warns Shahid Khaqan Abbasi

RAWALPINDI: Pointing towards alleged political engineering in the elections, veteran politician and former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Thursday said the general elections slated for February 8 would lead to chaos in the country.

“Making an election purposeful is a job of the political leadership, as this election has become purposeless. The political, military and judicial leaderships of the country should sit together on the table and determine the way forward for the country,” Abbasi said talking to media outside the anti-corruption department office in Rawalpindi. He showed up in the office for interrogation into the case pertaining to embezzlement in the Ghora Gali and Marri Road projects.

The former PM said the election should not be made controversial, as  elections are a revered process and making it controversial would damage the country. Pointing towards alleged rigging in elections, he said the system did not work in 2018 and neither will it work now.

He said the three largest parties of the country had failed to deliver as neither they had the resolution for the solution of the problems. He also predicted that more than one political party would be created in Pakistan soon.

He said he had left the elections, not politics. He said he would decide about forming a new political party after the elections.

Abbasi asked who would hold the National Accountability Board (NAB) and other anti-corruption institutes as they had become the country’s most corrupt organisations.

“Today people ask the world is making progress then why is Pakistan declining in development graph? Since, 1947 every election has been stolen. The masses are disappointed of the election process. You still have time to make this process uncontroversial,” he said.

On the embezzlement case against him, the ex-premier said the notice against him was sent to his spokesperson instead of him, which was a way of harassing a politician in the election process. Imagine, how someone who’s not even contesting elections was being treated then how the one contesting the polls would be treated, he said.

He said he was alleged of giving contract for construction of two roads to his favourite persons. When he asked the department, it said the roads were not even constructed, he said.