RECORDER REPORT

MULTAN: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s former president Makhdom Javed Hashmi has said that Makhdom Shah Mehmood Qureshi neither acted upon the civil disobedience call of Imran Khan nor did he tender his resignation, however, he asks other party members to resign from the parliament.

Talking to media persons during his election campaign here on Sunday, Hashmi said that Qureshi had paid Rs 91,000 against electricity bills.

He said that PTI was being hijacked by the influential, who had tightened noose around Imran Khan.

Hashmi said that he was not involved in Mehran Bank scam and he would quit politics if anyone proved him guilty.

He said the new Director General of Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) was a highly professional person and very much committed to democracy. Hashmi expressed the hope that the clandestine forces would not interfere in NA-149 by-election.

Hashmi claimed that spy forces played a key role in Islamabad sit-ins; however, he said that the new DG ISI was committed to strengthening democracy in the country.

“I am worried about political fate of Imran Khan, as he is a simple and artless leader, but the people around him are very clever who are pushing him into a closed alley,” Hashmi said.

He claimed that most of the caretaker set up was comprised of PTI supporters and some of them had even brought ties and suits from London and Paris for the oath-taking ceremony.

Hashmi asked why Imran was holding a public meeting in Multan when he had announced to boycott the by-poll. He said that PTI should take part in by-polls if it wanted to stay in politics. To a query, he said that the PTI members had been forced to resign, but he had opposed the decision of taking resignations from the elected members. He claimed that all members of the parliament could resign except Shah Mehmood Qureshi.

He clarified that he had not struck any deal with the PPP or PML-N on Multan by-poll.