Rashid says the order did not mention any malpractice on the part of Ayaz Sadiq. PHOTO: NNI
Talking to reporters after attending a reception held in honour of the PML-N workers and leaders who worked tirelessly to win NA-19 Haripur bye-elections, he dubbed the verdict as biased, saying the tribunal did not unseat Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) member of the Punjab Assembly from a constituency falling under NA-122 while that of PML-N MPA had been unseated.
“We will move the Supreme Court for justice, whose verdict will be acceptable to us,” the minister added.
It is PML-N’s right according to law and the Constitution, he said, to seek justice from the superior judiciary and it would do so.
Pervaiz Rashid said that the tribunal in its verdict did not mention any malpractice on the part of National Assembly speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, rather it specified some irregularities of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
Ayaz Sadiq or his voters, he said, could not be punished for the mistakes or malpractices of the poll body, adding that the voters in NA-122 used their right to franchise in a free, fair and transparent manner in the May 2013 general election.
The federal minister claimed that PTI Chief Imran Khan, who lost the polls, had filed a petition against Sadiq’s election on alleged anomalies and flimsy grounds. “Imran could not justify the sit-in on the basis of tribunal’s decision on NA-122.”
He said that the PTI chief was not content with Umer Ayub’s victory from NA-19 with a margin of only 750 votes, but now he had to be satisfied with the defeat of his party candidate by a margin of 47,000 votes in repolls. “The same story would be repeated if re-elections were held in the constituencies of Khawaja Saad Rafique and Ayaz Sadiq in Lahore.”
Blaming Imran’s attitude for his party’s defeat in the elections, Pervaiz Rashid said that the PML-N is a democratic party and it has tradition to absorb difference of opinion, on the other hand, there is dictatorship in the PTI. “Imran’s stubborn attitude was the main reason behind the party’s defeat in elections.”
He said that Imran has restricted his party leaders from issuing statements. Justice (retd) Wajihuddin, who is the most respected person in the country, was issued a show-cause notice by the PTI chief, he added. “Similarly, the PTI leadership has no respect for the party workers.”
The minister said that all PTI leaders wanted their personal publicity, which is evident from the party’s public meetings that everyone who mattered tried to be atop the container or stage.
On the other hand, he said that the PML-N leadership respected his party workers. That is why they put an extra efforts and won the difficult election of NA-19 with thumping majority, he pointed out. The party, he said, would win the 2018 general election in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) with the same spirit.
He appreciated K-P PML-N President Pir Sabir Shah and his team for winning NA-19 election.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 24th, 2015.
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