Foul language, conspiracies won’t break PML-N's vote bank: Saad Rafique

Says PTI fails to gather crowds at rallies despite giving out free food, transport

LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Khawaja Saad Rafique has called out the opponents by claiming that no amount of abusive language or hatched conspiracies can overturn Punjab being the PML-N’s stronghold in the upcoming polls, Express News reported.

Addressing a news conference in Lahore on Saturday, the former federal minister for railways said that “the election campaign has reached the home stretch now.”

He then fired broadsides at Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan by claiming that the former cricketer is “not a political leader.”

“How is it possible that 30,000 banners are being fixed overnight by his [Imran’s] party,” he said. “I appeal to the Election Commission of Pakistan to look into funding for the PTI’s election campaign,” the PML-N leader said.

“ECP should not turn a blind eye to the election campaigning expenses of PTI.” “Who is funding their campaign,” Rafique asked. He also urged Imran Khan to stop PTI workers from inciting violence and said that PTI workers hurl abuses towards PML-N workers during the election campaign.

He claimed that the PTI gathers people at their party rallies randomly from the streets. “The PTI fails to amass people at their rallies even after sending buses to fill people, as well as, distributing free food,” he claimed.

“I hope sanity prevails and the PTI leadership orders its workers to engage in politics not primed on confrontation,” he said. “This is the first polls where we haven’t had any complaints by the opposition till now,” he added.



“The public is ready to cast their vote on the basis of ideology,” he claimed. “No amount of poisonous propaganda or conspiracies can break PML-N’s vote bank in Lahore and the province [Punjab],” Rafique said.

Referring to the way former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz have been treated by the authorities since their return to the country, he said that “this has galvanised the PML-N supporters and workers’ spirits even further”.

“I’m confident that we’ll sweep all of the national and provincial assembly seats from Punjab,” the former federal minister said.

He said that there were some grey areas, which required clarity before the elections. Rafique said that the ECP should provide sufficient polling bags and performa at every polling station. He added that the ECP should ensure printed shirts and mobile phones are not allowed inside the polling stations and elections symbols should not be displayed anywhere inside the polling stations.

“Election results should be displayed outside every polling station to end any sort of confusion,” he said adding “candidates should also be provided with details of postal ballot. Compound should be created with tents for polling station with no compound of their own.”  He said that all those who arrive at the polling station on time should be allowed to vote.