ISLAMABAD
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Saturday accused the Punjab government of targeting PTI workers and PTI candidate and his family in PP-81 Jhang where the by-election is to be held on Monday.
According to a statement issued, PTI candidate Taimoor Bhatti’s cousin and chief polling agent Faisal Bhatti was arrested by the Punjab police on Saturday.
The PTI chairman demanded that the Punjab inspector general take notice of the political harassment by the police. He should learn from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa IG police who faced no political interference in the performance of his duties, the PTI head said.
He added that unless the police in the provinces are freed from political meddling and nepotism, law and order and justice could never be provided to the people.
He said that this trend of harassment of PTI workers and candidates has been going on since the May 11 elections and was seen most brazenly in by-polls held in Punjab where the PTI was clearly seen to be in a winning position.
He also called on the chief election commissioner (CEC) to stop the continuing blatant rigging on all fronts through the brazen use of the government machinery. He asserted that had the PTI demand for verification of thumb prints in four Punjab constituencies been accepted and verification undertaken, the whole rigging exercise would have been exposed.
Unfortunately, he said, because the thumb print verifications in the four constituencies have still not been undertaken, the Punjab government feels free to continue with the use of police and government machinery to continue rigging elections which they clearly are unable to win though a fair electoral process.
Imran also said that the PTI secretary general would send letters to the CEC and the IG police to take action against the pre-poll rigging and police harassment of the PTI candidate.
