PM vows PTI will ‘clean sweep’ G-B elections

Imran Khan says Swat, Hafizabad public gatherings prove people’s trust in ruling party

ISLAMABAD:

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday expressed the resolve that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) would “clean sweep” the Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) elections, saying that the Swat and Hafizabad public gatherings have proved that the people trust the ruling party.

He also maintained in the meeting of the political committee that the opposition was misleading the people in order to save its politics.

The elections in G-B will be held on 24 general seats of the region’s legislative assembly on November 15.

Earlier, the polls in the region were scheduled to be held on August 18 but were later postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The five-year term of the previous assembly had ended on June 24, bringing an end to the rule of the PML-N.

The new date of the elections was announced amid reports of an agreement between the government and the opposition parties to hold consultations on the proposal of granting “provisional provincial status” to G-B after the elections.

On Monday, chairing a meeting of the political committee, which reviewed the political and economic situation in the country, PM Imran directed his financial team to highlight the economic achievements of the government on the media.

Observing that all the economic indicators were moving in a positive direction, the premier noted that the PTI had stabilised the economy in two years and that the people would be reaping its benefits soon.

He said the opposition was carrying a negative propaganda against the government regarding inflation, adding that the people were suffering because of their wrong policies adopted in the past.

The prime minister expressed confidence that the PTI would win the G-B elections with a landslide victory, keeping in view the turnout of people in his recent Hafizabad and Swat public gatherings.

On Saturday, PM Imran addressed a large public gathering in Punjab’s Hafizabad district, where he announced the facility of health cards for the residents of the province.

The holders of the health card will be able to get treatment at any hospital, government or private, of up to Rs1 million.

Referring to the anti-government Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) alliance, PM Imran said the opposition was staging a "circus" because now the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) was free to pursue cases against them.

He said the opposition had tried to "blackmail" the government by demanding that NAB be disbanded before giving their consent to legislation concerning the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

He accused PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif of speaking "India's language" by attacking the country's military leadership, saying it had strengthened his resolve even further to bring to justice the people who looted the country.

The premier said that the opposition alleged that the 2018 general elections were rigged, but questioned why they did not file petitions to challenge the elections in courts even though the government was ready to launch a probe.

A day before, the premier addressed a public gathering in Mingora after the launch of sehat card scheme for the people of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, which allowed them to avail medical facilities of up to Rs1 million in the country.

The premier emphasised that he would never grant NRO to the politicians who had looted the country, saying that if he did so, it would be high treason with the country.

He said that Sharif had run away from the country under the pretext of illness, adding that he was a “money worshipper” and had collected his wealth by looting the country.

He said PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz, who was openly accusing the armed forces of interfering in politics, was not being arrested due to respect for women in the country.