ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairperson and former president Asif Ali Zardari said on Wednesday the ruling coalition would only go to polls after introducing electoral reforms in the country.
Zardari’s statement was against the demand made by Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan who has been seeking fresh elections since his ouster from power last month in a no-confidence vote.
Addressing a press conference in Karachi, the PPP leader said any government that came into power without electoral reforms would continue to face the same issues.
“We have to change laws and improve them and then go to elections,” he said. “Whether it takes three or four months, we have to work on the implementation of policies and improving electoral process.”
Zardari informed he had consulted Nawaz Sharif, the head of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party, before interacting with the media.
Asked what he thought about defense minister Khawaja Asif’s interview with BBC Urdu wherein he said elections could even be held before the appointment of the new army chief in November, the PPP leader said the minister should have followed the directives of his PML-N party.
Discussing the financial challenges confronting the country, he said Pakistan would continue to face difficulties until the International Monetary Fund (IMF) program was brought back on track.