BISHAM/MANSEHRA: Terming 2015 as the election year, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan on Tuesday said that he would expose those who robbed the mandate of the people by rigging the May 2013 general elections through the returning officers. Speaking at a public meeting in Bisham in Shangla district, he said the PTI staged a sit-in for 126 days against the record rigging in the last general elections. “Now it has been proved that the polls were rigged,” he added. “The returning officers carried out rigging and robbed the people’s mandate,” he claimed.He said the PTI had taken the ‘fake mandate holders’ to the Judicial Commission and would prove massive rigging in the general elections. He predicted mid-term elections in 2015 after tribunal’s verdict against Saad Rafique. “The election tribunal and Judicial Commission would unveil more proofs of rigging in near future,” he claimed.He said that the country was passing through a transition period and time has come to change the faulty system with a people-friendly one. Criticising rival political parties and their way of politics, Imran Khan said that some people were befooling the masses in the name of Islam, some in the name of Pakhtuns and slogan of Jhag Punjabi Jhag and others address their workers through telephone from London. “We have to get rid of such parties and politicians,” he added. He said that Switzerland has no gold or iron deposits but still it was a prosperous country while Pakistan has 188 billion tonnes of coal reserves while Balochistan is rich in iron deposits while Chitral and Kaghan produced 10 high quality of marble but 100 million people could not make both ends meet. “About 30 million are out of schools. But we will change the system if voted to power,” the PTI chief vowed.Imran said that the local government system would bring a big change in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He said the PTI was introducing a local government system where people would be free to decide their priorities. He said the people would not need to go to a member provincial or National Assembly for solution to their problems. “Now the problem of commoners would be solved at the village level,” he maintained. He said the PTI’s-led provincial government would construct 250 small dams and power houses and provide the electricity at Rs2 per unit to the consumers.Earlier, speaking at a gathering in Dobair in Kohistan, the PTI chief said that his party wanted an independent and sovereign country that followed its Constitution. Former MNA Malik Aurangzeb announced joining the PTI on the occasion.Imran Khan said he had no personal interest but wanted to steer the country out of the prevailing crises.“We had announced to change the fate of people after coming into power. The dream of change is being translated into a reality in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The people in KP have now realised the true change where corruption has been curbed in government departments,” he said. He said that every school-going child was being provided with free books in KP and the enrolment ratio has been increased and people would also enjoy the benefit of it even in near future. While admiring the natural beauty of Kohistan, he asked the people to help provincial government in curbing the timber smuggling and take to justice those involved in deforestation in the district. “We know that valleys of Kohistan are paradises on earth. But a handful of elements are out to destroy its natural beauty,” he added.Imran warned the timber smugglers to quit their illegal business as those found involved in deforestation would be taken to justice under the laws. He said that a National Park would also be established in Suppat valley and he would inaugurate it most probably in month of June this year.The PTI chief said that thousands of megawatt of electricity could be produced through hydroelectric projects in Kohistan.KP chief minister Pervez Khattak also spoke on the occasion.
