PTI protest rally demands impartial Punjab caretaker setup, ECP

MULTAN: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) staged a protest demonstration in front of the Multan Election Commission Office against the appointment of partial caretaker Punjab Chief Minister, and Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and termed the ECP a puppet in the hands of PDM.

The South Punjab PTI senior vice president Zain Hussein Qureshi addressed the protest rally and said the elections should be held within 90 days after the dissolution of assemblies but the schedule of the provincial assembly elections has not been announced yet. “It shows the unfairness of the ECP and imported rulers. How can elections be transparent under the shadow of such an ECP and such a supervisory setup?” he questioned. Imran Khan wants to let the people decide which political party has the people’s mandate and the decision of the people should be accepted by all, he said.

Zain Qureshi demanded an impartial monitoring setup, removing the Chairman of the Election Commission and announcing a schedule for general elections. He strongly condemned the arrest of PTI leader Fawad Chaudhary.

Addressing the protest, former provincial health minister Dr Akhtar Malik said: “Handcuffs, jails and violence cannot stop them. Let the rulers do as much violence as they want. File as many cases as you want. The morale of PTI workers cannot be lowered. The rulers have become a security risk. As long as these people remain in power, the country and the nation will remain in trouble. The imported rulers must go home. The general elections must be announced.”

Addressing the protest rally, former members of the Provincial Assembly Wasim Khan Baduzai, Malik Salim Labar, Wasif Mazhar Ran, Sabin Gul and PTI leaders Malik Adnan Dogar, Ejaz Hussain Janjua, Qurban Fatima said that the PTI workers can’t be intimidated by negative tactics. “Imran and PTI’s popularity has scared the imported rulers who are shying away from the nation. They have made no public service to face the people in the general election and doing the politics of interests. Imran Khan is their red line. Attempts are being made to minus Imran Khan for which Election Commission is playing a biased role,” they said.

A large number of workers participated in the protest carrying flags and banners and chanting slogans Election Commission. Women workers in large numbers also joined the protest. Earlier, the former member of the Provincial Assembly Makhdoomzada Zain Hussain Qureshi led a rally from Bab Al-Quraish and reached the Election Commission office.