LAHORE - PTI Chairman Imran Khan yesterday demanded the Election Commission to get ballot box-carrying vehicles escorted by the Army to ensure transparency.
Mr Khan last month had demanded the deployment of Army and Rangers on polling stations for re-election in NA 122– the slot created after a tribunal annulled the victory of PML-N’s Ayaz Sadiq over irregularities in the 2013 election.
“The Election Commission must make arrangements to get ballot box-carrying vehicles escorted by the Army to fail any attempt by the ruling party to steal the public mandate,” PTI leader said in his public meeting. According to estimates, 12,000 supporters of Khan showed up at Samanabad’s Doongi Ground where he unveiled his party’s anti-rigging strategy.
He called upon the PTI’s women wing to fight rigging this time as, according to him, the ruling party had planned to man the by-election in Lahore through women polling stations.
“Our sources have informed us that PML-N is planning to man election at women’s polling stations, but let me make it clear upon them that PTI’s tigresses will not let them succeed in their nefarious designs,” he said.
“The PTI has trained its election team to foil rigging plan and the PML-N has trained its staff to steal the mandate,” he claimed.
The former cricket star directed his election teams to “go after the vote-carrying vehicles at least on five motorcycles”.
“Our main focus is not on bringing out people on voting day, but we are more concerned about how to stop poll-rigging,” Khan maintained in his 32-minute speech.
He dubbed the PML-N as “Stay Order League”, saying: “The Punjab Chief Minister remained the provincial chief executive for years under a stay order and the de-seated parliamentarians also got stay orders to remain in the parliament.”
Khan said that currently scores of cases were lying pending in Punjab’s National Accountability Bureau, but the incumbent government was not letting them prosecute those cases.
“Change cannot be brought about without across the board accountability and it is not possible under the incumbent government,” he asserted.
Khan quoted Nepra authorities as saying that 70 percent additional bills had been served to the consumers this month.
He alleged 350 million rupees had been fixed for the renovation of the boundary walls of ruling party leadership’s palace in Raiwind.
“British prime minister travells in business class of ordinary airline while Pakistan’s PM enjoys flight in Boing 777 that costs Rs250 million,” he added.
“The government has fixed 50 percent GST on diesel, which would ultimately increase the price of Maulana Fazlur Rehman,” he said sarcastically.