ISLAMABAD: Khawaja Muhammad Asif, a senior leader of the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PMLN) and the Defence Minister, foresees a potential “constitutional meltdown” within the Pakistan.
In an interview with a private TV channel, he stated, “I don’t have any information, but this is just my gut feeling that a constitutional breakdown is about to happen. Sooner or later, it is going to happen,” he said without elaborating further.
However, he clarified that he was not referring to the possibility of martial law being imposed in the country. “There should be a political solution to political problems,” Khawaja added.
Amid opposition from friends and foes alike, the defence minister admitted that the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PMLN)-led government hastily announced the move to ban the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
“Yes, you can say that we declared this prematurely, and consultation with the allies [in this regard] is mandatory,” Minister added.
Khawaja stated that any decision to impose a ban on the PTI would be made based on consensus among the allies. “We will take this major step after creating broad consensus, InshaAllah,” he added.
When asked about the perception that the current rulers are acting as facilitators in the institutions’ alleged fight against jailed PTI founder Imran Khan, the defence minister rejected this notion, saying, “This is about Pakistan.”
“Since their [PTI] ouster from power and the attitude they adopted, the PTI has become an existential threat to the country,” the senior PMLN leader said, adding that the embattled party was receiving all-out support from the US, “either diplomatic or legislative.”
The PMLN leader also claimed that the PTI hired lobbyists in the US, “who have garnered support from different lobbies.”
Separately, speaking on another news channel program, the defence minister warned, “We would go to every extent to save the government.”
He said the PMLN government would go to any extent to salvage the current setup. He noted there are whispers, “Let October come, and then they will also file an application regarding elections. There are whispers in certain circles about canceling the elections on a petition. But we will go to any extent to save the government,” he pledged.
