- PTI chief continues to cry foul against alleged rigging in last year’s general elections, says his party will stage its next rally in Sialkot on June 7
- Imran Khan stresses that free, fair and transparent elections can only bring a positive change in the country
- PTI claims district government organised Naseebo Lal show to woo crowds away from rally
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Sunday said that free, fair and transparent elections can only bring a positive change, development and progress in the country.
Addressing thousands of PTI enthusiasts in Faisalabad’s Dhobi Ghaat area, the Kaptaan said his party with the help of the people would build “Naya Pakistan” where everyone would enjoy human rights and social justice.
The PTI chairman said that no power could stop people to start a new era of development and progress in Pakistan. He accused the government of using state machinery to distract the people of Faisalabad from attending the public demonstration.
“I want to tell the ruling elite that passion and ideology could not be hurdled by force or any other tactic,” he added.
The PTI chief said that a year has passed since the government took over the administrative charge but no positive change has been witnessed in the country.
“Laptops are being distributed to buy young people. I want to ask youths if they are getting jobs,” he asked. “I am the only politician who is given money to run the ShaukatKhanumHospital.”
Instead of breaking the begging bowl, he said, the government broke all records of foreign loans in one year. He pledged that he would tax the rich after coming into power. The PTI chief said that money collected in the form of taxes would be spent on the people.
“The biggest problem being faced by Pakistan is family-limited politics. This is not democracy, but monarchy,” he contended.
“I am talking about re-opening of four constituencies for a vote recount. Massive rigging has been carried out in every constituency we have opened so far,” he revealed.
Khan accused the PML-N government, Mir Shakilur Rehman and former chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry of rigging the elections and called for action under Article 6 of the Constitution against those involved.
He announced that the PTI would stage its next rally in Sialkot on June 7.
Addressing the rally, Awami Muslim League (AML) head Sheikh Rashid said that it would be forbidden to sit in the assembly if rigging was proved even in one constituency.
“If we have to save Pakistan, people need to hit the streets with Imran Khan,” said Rashid. He stated that Nawaz Sharif’s government was a “message of death to laborers”.
“Pakistan is being ruled by a few families,” he said, adding that Finance Minister Ishaq Dar had confessed his involvement in money laundering. He hinted at staging a decisive rally in Islamabad after the Eid ul Uzha.
OF FREE CONCERTS:
In the meanwhile, ‘free for all’ public concert featuring Naseebo Laal and Hans Raj Hans became a bone of contention between the government and PTI.
The PTI claimed that it was but one of several ‘tactics’ that had been employed by the district administration to woo crowds away from their rally.
With the PTI having announced on May 11 its protest against polls rigging, supporters of the party insisted that the government was all out to hamper the turn-out at the Dhobi Ghaat public demonstration.
However, upon his arrival at the protest venue, the PTI chairman said the government’s tactics would not affect the PTI protest.
“The government thinks people are fools, they think people are not serious and they can distract them by arranging concerts, but what the government does not know is that their time is up,” said Khan.
In the days leading up to the protest, Faisalabad saw PTI banners being put up everywhere. But the city woke up on Sunday to find it decorated with hundreds of posters and billboards of the TextilePark — a recently announced initiative of the Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif.
Canal Road, Mall Road, Chenab Road and Bilal Road, which previously were decorated by the PTI banners, were decorated overnight with TextilePark banners hoisted right above the PTI banners.
Officials of PTI claim that their banners were being continuously taken down by government officials from various neighbourhoods, including Katchery Bazaar, Allied Mor, Chiniot Bazaar and areas surrounding the Motorway.
However, what distressed the local party leadership more was the public concert also being held on Sunday at the Bohranwala Ground.
Calling it the ‘Naseebo Laal democracy’, the concert was viewed by PTI leaders as another attempt to distract crowds from the jalsa.
The government vehicles, a PTI leader claimed, were being used to advertise the concert throughout the weekend. Colourful banners advertising a free for all ‘musical night and laser light show’ were put up across the city next to the PTI banners.
Responding to the allegations, Spokesman to Faisalabad DCO Riaz Anjum maintained that the government has worked with the PTI leadership regarding security arrangements. He denied that any hurdles were being created by the government.
