ISLAMABAD: Canadian High Commissioner Perry John Calderwood called on Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan at Bani Gala on Tuesday.
Kaptaan thanked Canada for assistance in a number of fields both bilaterally and through multi-lateral forums. He also expressed satisfaction at the friendly relations between the two countries.
In a discussion on a number of issues, the skipper stressed the importance of fair and free elections for sustainable democracy in Pakistan. He said the PTI had waged a long struggle against tainted elections and thanks to the party’s efforts that issue of electoral reforms is now centre stage in the country.
He informed the Canadian envoy that the PTI has participated diligently in the electoral reforms process in parliament but is not satisfied with the results so far. Some critical issues, said Kaptaan, such as biometric verification of voters, electronic voting machines and particularly voting rights for overseas Pakistanis have not been resolved.
He stressed that the Election Commission of Pakistan must be reconstituted after the electoral reform process is over.
Discussing challenges faced by Pakistan, Imran said that terrorism remains the number one security challenge.
He pointed out that Operation Zarb-e- Azb and Raad-ul-Fasaad have improved matters considerably but there are still many challenges ahead.
Full implementation of the National Action Plan and activation of NACTA are prerequisites for a successful outcome but equally important are police reforms, he added. The PTI supremo informed the dignitary about revamping the police in KP and the excellent work done by it subsequently. The Canadian High Commissioner thanked Imran for the meeting and the excellent discussion on a number of issues of mutual interest.
