Economy cannot afford a new political crisis: Ahsan Iqbal

Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal has said Pakistan’s current economic situation cannot afford any new political crisis.

Speaking to news persons outside the Supreme Court in Islamabad, the Minister said the incumbent federal government is taking the economy out of crisis and towards stability.

He said Imran Khan and his party leaders repeatedly gave statements against the institutions and the country’s judiciary but nobody takes notice.

Ahsan Iqbal claimed that when 197 members of the Punjab Assembly had voted in favor of Hamza Shehbaz, the Supreme Court issued a ‘disputed order’, deseating the 20 members.

However, the legal experts and two judges of the five-member bench were of the view that the votes of 20 members should have been counted as per the law, he added.

The minister maintained that the review petition on that case was still pending in the Supreme Court and the country was made to plunge in another crisis.

He said the 20 assembly members, whose votes were not counted for the Punjab CM’s election, were de-seated on the direction of Imran Khan, who viewed that being a party head, all the members were bound to obey his directive.

Ahsan Iqbal said being heads of their respective parties, the directions of both Imran Khan and Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain must be given equal importance.

He claimed that when Imran Khan was defeated on the political front, he approached the judiciary for getting his defeat turned into a victory.

“We want to see the Supreme Court an independent and sovereign institution, which should implement the rule of law and should not indulge in any kind of controversy.”