Claiming that the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) would sweep the upcoming general election with overwhelming public support, Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf said on Saturday that the days of manipulating the elections were over and that the PPP had won all elections held transparently in the past.
Citing the Supreme Court’s historic verdict in the Asghar Khan case, Ashraf said the ruling was an eye-opener and showed how elections had been manipulated in the past. He said the case had unveiled many things and that the PPP workers needed to study it in order to be aware of those who try to manipulate the results.
He said there were no more fake voters after election reforms, adding that 100,000 bogus votes in all the constituencies of Faisalabad were now a thing of the past.
“We are helping seven million households across the country through the Benazir Income Support Programme,” he said, adding that the programme would be increased four times, if the party succeeds in the next polls.
He said the government had more than doubled the salaries of government employees and the workers, adding that the support price of wheat had also been raised from around Rs 600 to Rs 1200 per 40 kg in the past four years.
The rally was also attended by Punjab Governor Latif Khosa, PPP Punjab President Manzoor Wattoo, Punjab Assembly Opposition Leader Raja Riaz, Tanveer Ashraf Kaira, and Minister of State for Science and Technology Raheela Baloch.
He said there was a time when everyone believed that it was impossible to get rid of former president General (r) Pervez Musharraf. “However, it was the political acumen of President Asif Ali Zardari that led to the ouster of the dictator,” he added. He said he was addressing the rally as a “worker prime minister” and was proud to be part of a party that was “real representative” of the people of Pakistan. He said he was also proud to belong to the middle class and has risen from the ranks of a common worker.
He said the post of the prime minister of Pakistan was equally open for all workers of the party, without any discrimination. On the contrary, he said, many other parties spoke about democracy, but never exercised it practically and no other party could match the PPP in this aspect.
The prime minister also announced Rs 1.5 million as cash award for Mohammad Asif who recently won the world snooker championship and offered him a job of his choice. He also invited the snooker champion to the Prime Minister’s House. He approved the demands made by the local MNAs for various schemes and agreed to establish grid stations by Hassan Murtaza and Sher Naseer, a passport office by Raheela Baloch, besides a sewerage plant for the city.
