PTI holds protest demos against alleged rigging in elections

ISLAMABAD/ PESHAWAR/MULTAN: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers on Saturday protested outside the Press Club against the alleged rigging in February 8 polls.

PTI’s Sher Afzal Marwat, Shoaib Shaheen and Aamir Mughal participated in the PTI rally while female workers were also a part of the protest.

Meanwhile, proposed chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ali Amin Gandapur on Saturday joined the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) protesters in the provincial capital and demanded immediate correction of the election results as per Form-45, saying the candidates elected by the people should be declared winners.

Addressing the protesters, Ali Amin Gandapur said that he would restore free healthcare under the Sehat Card Plus programme, ensure jobs to unemployed youth, restart Ehsaas Langar Programme to offer free food to poor and reorganise Shelter Houses for the homeless. He said the PTI government would safeguard women’s rights as per the Islamic Sharia and help them get their due share in their inherited properties.

Gandapur, who like many other PTI leaders suffered following the May 9, 2023 violent protests in the country and was arrested for his role in the violence, said they decided to begin a new chapter and will never victimise government and police officials. He said whatever they had suffered, they would never let it happen to others in KP. He said the PTI would continue its legal battle as well as peaceful protest and ensure that candidates elected by their people in true sense should get their right to represent their electorate in the assembly.

The PTI Peshawar chapter had organised a massive protest rally at Peshawar’s Ring Road against the alleged rigging in the recent general election. All roads leading towards the Peshawar-Islamabad Motorway were closed and traffic was diverted towards the GT Road in Chamkani. Since PTI had announced its protest a day earlier, the majority of people had left the city earlier in the morning to avoid traffic jams.

The PTI workers and leaders launched their protest campaign against the alleged rigging in eight provincial constituencies in Peshawar district. PTI senior leaders including Taimur Khan Jhagra, Kamran Khan Bangash, Mahmood Jan Khan, Mohammad Asim Khan and Arbab Jahandad Khan lost their seats to little-known candidates. PTI local leaders also spoke on the occasion and held the Peshawar district administration responsible for stealing public mandate.

Taimur Jhagra said the government officials, particularly the deputy commissioner, who was the district returning officer and other returning officers, were responsible for the massive rigging in the election. “Salute to commissioner Rawalpindi. What has happened in Peshawar cannot be hidden. What has happened in Pakistan cannot be hidden,” said Taimur Jhagra.

PTI leader Salman Akram Raja, who was released after a brief arrest during the party’s protest in Lahore, said that they will resist if they are subjected to violence. The politician made the remark before he was arrested by the Punjab Police. Raja said that they had taken to streets as per the Constitution and law. “To protest and state [our views] is our right,” he added.

Meanwhile, police arrested seven PTI activists in Multan, including former PTI district president Khalid Warraich, before they reached the venues for protest called by the PTI leadership. The PTI had announced a protest at Nigana Chowk in NA-148 Multan-I and Dera Adda Chowk at 2pm. However, no PTI leader could reach the place at the scheduled time while heavy contingents of police were present at both the spots with prisoner vans. PTI Senator Aoun Abbas Bappi had also given a call for protest last week at Chungi No 9 that also saw the same fate.

The six arrested PTI workers are Irfan Khan Tareen, Riaz Ahmed, Junaid Khan, Zeeshan Khan, Muhammad Ilyas and Jawad Rashid.