Farhat Abbas
SARGODHA - PTI Chairman Imran Khan has declared that the next year will be election year as he asked his supporters to prepare for fresh polls.
Addressing a huge public meeting at Sports Stadium in Sargodha on Friday evening, Imran termed the 60 percent youth population his main power which could change the fate of the country. He maintained this force will assist in building Naya Pakistan.
The Multan by-election was an eye-opener for the rulers and a lesson to the players of friendly opposition game, he said and added he was fighting the war for the country’s future.
Imran termed Javed Hashmi’s defeat in Multan by-elections a lesson for both the Pakistan People’s Party and the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, saying that their policy of ‘friendly politics’ had miserably failed. “You decided to take turns,” he said referring to the transition of power from the PPP government to the PML-N. “This has been rejected by the masses.”
Imran Khan said the party launched the sit-in against the rigging in the last general elections. He said he would not call off the sit-in till the resignation of Nawaz Sharif. He said he would make Naya Pakistan to elevate the living standard of millions of people who are living below the poverty line. “I will take care of the ignored communities and stand for the rights of farmers, labourers and other oppressed people in the country,” Imran said.
The PTI chief said past and incumbent rulers had made two separate laws: one for the masses and the other for themselves. This discriminatory system should be eliminated, he added.
He said corrupt politicians ruled in Pakistan but invested their capital abroad, which resulted in reduced foreign direct investment due to credibility deficit.
The PTI supremo said the amount indebted by each Pakistani has increased to Rs88,000 from Rs35,000 over the last six years. Who would pay this loan, he asked, adding that ultimately, the citizens are compelled to pay it in the shape of costly electricity and huge taxes. He said the nation could change its fortune.
Imran Khan announced holding next public meeting in Gujrat on Friday and in Larkana on November 21. He strongly criticised the Metro Bus Project and termed it wastage of national money. He said that money should be used for health, education, job creation and in other sectors to provide relief to the masses.
He reiterated his party’s policy to educate girls to bring awareness in the country. He said that Accountability Cell would be established in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa which would also keep an eye on the chief minister’s doings. The NAB is totally under the control of the rulers which could not nab even Khursheed Shah and Asif Ali Zardari.
Earlier, PTI Vice-Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi warned the Pakistan People’s Party that the PTI tsunami was heading towards Sindh, PPP’s traditional stronghold, saying that his party would hold a public meeting in Larkana on November 21. He said Imran Khan was on a mission to wake up the nation and he would not abandon his mission till the resignation of Nawaz Sharif.
Qureshi said that people of Multan chanted ‘Go Nawaz Go’ slogans on October 10 and now the people of Sargodha were chanting the slogan. He said Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had won election from Multan, but in Friday’s by-election PPP’s candidate failed miserably.
On his part, Sheikh Rasheed said that by-election results had become a blot on the faces of Muslim Leaguers. He invited Nawaz Sharif and Khawaja Asif for a political debate. He said that Nawaz and Shahbaz both were not on the same line and length due to the sit-in, and their politics would be over soon.
Meanwhile, the district administration has sought explanation from the PTI local leadership for suspension of electricity supply during the PTI leaders’ speeches, especially before PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s address.
The DCO said that the consistent supply of power was the responsibility of the PTI local leadership. There is a written agreement on it between the district administration and the PTI local leaders, he added.
Due to power failure, the people started leaving the venue while PTI leaders blamed each other for the fault. The organisers restrained Sheikh Rasheed to mount the stage but on the recommendation of Imran Khan he was allowed to pass through. Earlier, two workers sustained injuries during stage preparation. Moreover, three women were slightly injured. One of the rally participants also fainted.
Famous singer Attaullah Essa Khelvi entertained the participants.