ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan made it clear on Wednesday that he would not bow to opposition’s demand for him to step down, as the government decided to give a go-ahead to JUI-F-led ‘Azadi March’ provided it remains “within the ambit of law”.Talking to a select group of journalists and analysts at PM Office here, Khan expressed his resolve not to come under pressure from Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman who is launching a protest march on Oct 31. Khan suspected ulterior motives behind Maulana Fazl’s Azadi March. The Prime Minister said the JUI-F’s planned protest had sent a wave of joy in India. The Prime Minister acknowledged inflation and unemployment remained a major problem which, he said, his government was trying to address.Meanwhile, the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) government decided on Wednesday to allow the opposition’s protest march “within the ambit of law and the Constitution as interpreted in the decisions of the Supreme Court and Islamabad High Court”.The decision was taken after the government’s negotiating team, which is being led by Defence Minister Pervez Khattak, met Prime Minister Imran Khan, the PM Office’s media wing said in a press release.“It was decided that the government, with its firm belief in upholding democratic ideals, would allow the proposed Azadi March, if it takes place within the ambit of law and the Constitution as interpreted in the decisions of the Supreme Court and Islamabad High Court,” it said.The opposition parties led by JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman have already announced the date for holding the march in the federal capital on October 31. The team, led by Khattak, had been given go-ahead by the government to hold negotiations, but the opposition parties have declined to call off the protest march.Last week, the Islamabad High Court, deciding a set of petitions about Azadi March, had directed the administration to decide JUI-F’s application for the march as per law and also ensure protection of the rights of the citizens of the capital city.
10-24-2019, 11:59 AM
Imran rebuffs opposition?s calls to step down
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