By-elections: Sarwar demands commission to probe corruption allegations

PTI leader says govt won’t be able to rig polls

LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) provincial organiser Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar on Monday called for of a commission, consisting of Supreme Court judges, to probe allegations of corruption in development projects in the province.

Addressing a public meeting in connection with by-polls, Sarwar said it was time to hold those accused of corruption accountable. Sarwar, MPAs Mian Aslam Iqbal and Nausheen Hamid and candidates for NA-122 and PP-147 Abdul Aleem Khan and Shoaib Siddiqui visited Garhi Shahu, Allama Iqbal Road, Samanabad and Shama Stop areas as part of the campaign.

Sarwar said it appeared that the government believed it could again steal the people’s mandate. He said that due to training of the party’s polling staff and awareness among the public, the PML-N would be unable to rig the elections. “They are mistaken if they think we will let them rig the polls,” Sarwar said.

He urged the Election Commission of Pakistan to fulfil its responsibility of holding fair elections in Lahore and Lodhran. He said the government had failed to end electricity load-shedding and reduce unemployment.

Aleem Khan and Shoaib Siddiqui accused the PML-N of trying to rig the elections. Khan claimed that the government candidates were trying to bribe voters in NA-122 and PP-147 with job offers. He said this amounted to pre-poll rigging.

Aslam Iqbal said former National Assembly speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq had failed to address problems faced by the people of the constituency. He said Sadiq was afraid of the outcome and had therefore challenged his disqualification in the Supreme Court.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 15^th, 2015.