PTI be given right to form govt: Gohar

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek Insaf’s senior leader Barrister Gohar Ali Khan said Wednesday that his party should be given the constitutional and democratic right to form a strong government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, particularly in Punjab and at the Centre.

In a statement on his social media account, he said PTI would, in any case, fulfil its duty to protect the people’s mandate and would raise its voice vigorously at all levels to safeguard the sanctity of the people’s vote.

He stated: “To shield Pakistan from destructive political instability and to steer the economy towards development and stability, it is imperative to refrain from undermining the people’s mandate. The immediate release of results according to Form 45, returning the seats taken from the PTI, and replacing unconstitutional and illegal selections for power with the PTI, which holds the people’s mandate, is essential.”

He stressed that the future of Pakistan is intertwined with the complete supremacy of the Constitution and the utmost respect for democratic values and traditions. The Constitution entrusts the power and authority of the state to the people, who exercise this power through their elected representatives.

He argued: “It is unrealistic to expect any benefit for us as a state by undermining this sacred relationship between the state and the people. History has shown that whenever attempts were made to govern the state without adhering to the constitution and democracy, the country faced crises and challenges.”

He highlighted the seriousness of the current state of affairs, noting that despite the unfair confinement of PTI’s founder chairman Imran Khan in false, fabricated, and baseless cases, and attempts to prevent him from campaigning and participating in the electoral process, the people openly rejected the clear and decisive mandate given to the PTI through their vote on February 8.

He asserted that tampering with the mandate amounts to disrespecting the people’s votes, violating the Constitution and democracy, and going against Pakistan’s interests.

He firmly stated: “With the reprehensible facilitation of the Election Commission of Pakistan, forcibly converting the elected majority of the people into a minority through fraudulent changes in the election results, and illegally dividing the legitimate mandate of the people into rejected political groups imposed on the country as rulers, is a recipe for destruction, which we completely reject.”

Meanwhile, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Wednesday rejected outright what it called a malicious attempt to re-impose the mandate of ‘thieves’ clique of PDM-2’ on the nation with the support of disgusting characters of the regime change conspiracy.

The party spokesperson, in reaction to the Tuesday’s agreement between the PML-N and PPP to form a coalition government in the centre, said the entire arrangement was also backed by the ‘most dishonest’ chief election commissioner by making a mockery of the constitution and law.

He claimed that the public’s rejected group had joined hands once again to stage a drama of PDM-2, which was unacceptable and intolerable.

The attempts to make the nation a slave to the certified criminals by stealing the public mandate, he cautioned, would result in the worst political instability in the country.

The spokesperson made it clear that the nation had given a clear mandate to the PTI to form government in the Centre, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa despite the ‘unjust’ incarceration of PTI founder chairman Imran Khan, snatching ‘bat’ symbol from the party and not allowing to carry out the election campaign.

He stressed that the people had given an overwhelming majority of 180 seats in National Assembly to PTI as per the form-45. “It is high time. We need to learn a lesson from history and should respect the public mandate, as Pakistan had to go through a tragedy like the fall of Dhaka as a result of daylight poll fraud”.

The heirs of those who dismembered Pakistan, he pointed out, were again active to facilitate the state’s efforts to trample on the public mandate.

Similarly, the PTI spokesperson said certified thieves, who were chanting the slogan of ‘give respect to the vote’, were now trying to get lion’s share in the booty of the stolen public mandate despite having only 17 seats in the National Assembly.

The spokesperson made it clear that the people would not tolerate any attempt to make a mockery of the constitution and democracy and daylight robbery of their votes come what may.

He vowed that the PTI would resist all attempts to steal the public mandate.

Meanwhile, talking to reporters after meeting PTI Founder Imran Khan in Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, senior party leader Asad Qaiser while referring to PMLN-PPP accord on formation of government, alleged that people had rejected them, claiming their mandate was fake. “I wonder, there should be some grace… they have been rejected by masses in elections. Hence, their prime minister and cabinet will be fake,” he maintained.

Asad said while the country was facing serious problems like unemployment, anxiety and unrest, these two parties engaged in sharing government posts on the basis of a fake mandate.

Separately, Sher Afzal Marwat of PTI, alleged during media talk that the police had trespassed his house not to arrest but to kidnap him. He added the judge Sardar Ejaz Ishaq had said if Sher Ghazi did not reach home, all the senior police officials would have to be present before the court tomorrow.

PTI senior leader came hard on the ICT police and alleged that the IG Police Islamabad was indulging in terrorism in the federal capital.