PTI stage countrywide protests against poll ‘rigging’

Party wants Punjab, Sindh top officials sacked as Salman Raja arrested in Lahore

ISLAMABAD/ LAHORE:

The PTI on Saturday demanded the immediate dismissal of the Punjab and Sindh chief secretaries as well as the police chiefs of both the provinces for “facilitating electoral fraud” and “assisting in robbing” the mandate of the people.

According to the PTI’s central media department, the senior leadership of the party has sought the removal of these four officials as they have played a “criminal role in tarnishing democracy and promoting lawlessness” in their provinces.

It added that the PTI’s senior leadership wanted these four officials to be held “sternly accountable” for their “actions”.

As per its plan, the PTI earlier in the day staged protest rallies in various cities of the country including Islamabad and Lahore against alleged rigging the results of the recently held general elections but those in the provincial capital of Punjab faced the wrath of police, especially party leader Salman Akram Raja.

In Lahore, the police launched a crackdown on the rally and arrested dozens of protesters including PTI-backed independent candidate lawyer Raja for NA-128 as well as several women.

Surrounded by security and media personnel, Raja said he stood "with the people of Pakistan" and he was “illegally” being arrested as the police dragged him towards their vehicle.

However, taking to social media platform X, Punjab caretaker Information Minister Amir Mir claimed that Raja and some other “miscreants” had been set free after being detained briefly.

Read also: PTI’s Salman Akram Raja freed amid uproar

But in response, lawyer Sameer Khosa shared on X that Raja's family had not heard or seen from him yet, adding that they were filing a habeas corpus petition in the high court.

The protesters in the countrywide rallies included men, women and a large number of youngsters.
The youth waved PTI flags and chanted slogans against “rigging”.

In Islamabad, a protest rally was led by PTI’s Sher Afzal Marwat. The PTI Islamabad had sought permission from the deputy commissioner to stage the rally, but it was turned down and Section-144 imposed in the federal capital.

However, the party went ahead with its protest in any case.

The rally kicked off from F-9 Park and culminated outside the National Press Club before coming to an end.
Shoaib Shaheen, Seemabia Tahir, Shehryar Riaz and other PTI leaders participated in the rally as well.

Addressing the participants of the rally, Marwat said the resignation of the Rawalpindi Commissioner Liaquat Ali Chatha had exposed how despicable people had stolen the mandate of the people.

Earlier in the day, Chatha claimed that the results of the February 8 general elections were “manipulated” under his watch and they had caused the independent candidates, who were leading by “thousands of votes”, to lose by using “fake stamps”. He also stepped down from his post.

Other PTI leaders also spoke on the occasion.

Read: Imran says PTI will not exact political revenge

 

In Balochistan, four nationalist political parties -- the BNP-M, PkMAP, National Party, and Hazara Democratic Party have vowed to carry on their protests in Quetta and other cities as well as town of the province against alleged rigging in the elections.

The four-party alliance has called for a wheel-jam strike across Balochistan on Sunday (today).

They also set up a joint protest camp to mount pressure on the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to reexamine its results about their constituencies.

“People from all walks of life and political activists have rejected the results of the general polls not only in Balochistan, but in other parts of the country as well,” said PkMAP secretary general Abdul Rahim Ziaratwal.

He added that the returning officers had snatched their democratic right.

The PkMAP leader blamed the ROs and ECP for the “record polls rigging: in the province.

(With input from our correspondent in Quetta)