Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairperson Imran Khan. PHOTO: INP
ABBOTABAD:
Dismayed with results of the general elections, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan said those found involved in rigging during the June 5 by-polls in Abbottabad’s PK-45 constituecy would be dealt with severely.
The PTI chief was speaking to participants of election meetings in Pattan Kalan and Beerot villages on Saturday, to campaign for his party candidate, Ali Asghar Khan.
“I promise that anyone caught casting more than one vote during the by-polls in this constituency would be sent to jail,” said Imran, adding his party suffered from massive rigging by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) last year.
Accusing PML-N of committing “historic” rigging during the May 11 general elections, Imran said that a party which bagged 6.8 million votes during the 2008 elections polled 14.5 million votes from Punjab alone in 2013. “Could somebody tell me how PML-N was able to win by such a huge margin,” he questioned, explaining that bogus votes were cast in high numbers.
“I will prove one day that PML-N committed history’s biggest voter fraud,” he said.
Speaking about the political culture of the country, Imran said political dynasties had been imposed on the people of Pakistan for the last three decades.
The PTI chief said family politics and “family limited companies” have been ruling turn by turn, destroying the very fabric of the country and harming democracy. “The rule of a few families has proved detrimental to the development and prosperity of Pakistan,” he said. Lashing out at the Sharifs, Imran said they have also brought their women into politics after already giving coveted posts to their sons and son-in-laws. He vowed to resist the politics of dynasty at all costs.
Talking about PK-45, Imran said a single family has been ruling the constituency for thirty years but has failed to improve living conditions of the people. Imran expressed PTI’s resolve to improve the lives of people by bringing the area at par with the developed towns of the country. He announced the opening of three degree colleges in the constituency, tourism promoting schemes to provide jobs for locals and giving the status of Tehsil Headquarters to Beerot.
PK-45 was vacated after Sardar Mehtab Khan Abbasi was appointed as the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa governor. A tough contest is expected for the provincial assembly seat as the Abbasis have won every election from it since 1988. Denting PTI’s chances is the fact that its candidate, Ali, is a non-local whereas the PML-N candidate is a relative of the governor.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 25th, 2014.
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pti is doing the right thing... kindly visit there website and remain update through social media and use pti channels for updates .... one thing the pti is doing which is the main problem since last 8 or 10 years is funding to media to create perceptions. pti is not funding in media to create perception... just consider the message of mr. prime minister that leave us doing our work and perform in ur province.. . yes pti is progressing but media is not portrying and as far as leaving you with your work... how can pti leave you... you came with fraud y dont u open open 4 constituencies and if any one found guilt should b punished these are sensible demands...
Lately I have come to realise that these serial PTI badgers are just as naive and uniformed as they label the PTI supporters to be. “IK should focus on KPK government and forget the centre” The childishness of this constantly repeated rehtoric beggars belief. 1. Imran khan is not part if the KPK government! KPK has it’s own CM, it’s own cabinet and it’s own parliament. It’s THEIR job to focus on KPK, ik merely creates party policy for them to follow and overlooks progress. 2. PTI is a national party. It cAnnot refine itself to one province. IK is a national leader and is focusing on national issues, electoral reforms being one of them. 3. “If you tell a lie and tell it often enough people will believe it” that’s exactly what is happening with this “ik has failed in KPK” statement. It is being repeated so often by these PTI bashers that it seems like the truth. 23 new legislations, including revolutionary ones like right to services and right to information. Complete depoliticisation of the police (look this up), patwari corruption finished, English medium education on primary schools, Sehet ka insaf, tamer-e-school, removal of VIP culture I.e no grand protocols. These are just some of the things kp has achieved in the past 10 months and it’s more than Punjab has done in the past 6 YEARS. So please hold your horses, IK and PTI are indeed the change they promised to be.
Enough is enough Mr Kaptaan !!! Kindly do some constructive work in kpk. You have lost the battle it does not matter how it happen, since its not an ideal world. Move on now. all these few seats you are crying for would not make any difference to any party either.