PTI fears ‘new era of repression, injustice’

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) member and senior lawyer Salman Akram Raja Sunday expressed deep concerns over the current political scenario and hinted at possible onset of a new era of oppression and injustice.

Speaking to a news conference here, Raja, who was flanked by PTI Spokesperson Shoaib Shaheen, Shaukat Basra and Meher Bano Qureshi, said it was good that a process of self-accountability had begun. However, he said that it would be acceptable to them only when those who were behind the poll fraud on the night of February 8-9 were exposed and punished.

Raja termed the election day a day that will never be forgotten by the people of Pakistan. He claimed his party got 170 NA seats but what happened afterwards was before the nation. He emphasized that the courage shown by the public on that day, despite the climate of fear and oppression, was remarkable.

“It was believed that PTI might only secure a handful of seats, perhaps ten or twenty, but the outcome proved otherwise,” he said, crediting the people for their resilience in the face of fear, asserting that they have demonstrated an unwavering support for his party.

Raja expressed concern over the current state of the nation, particularly the frustration among the younger generation who are increasingly looking to leave the country.

He alleged that those who were brought to power had totally failed to deliver, as they were not true public representatives.

Raja called for immediate action to address the issues plaguing the nation and to prevent possible emergence of a more repressive environment. He said they were all together and united and those who try to create a wedge between the masses and institutions were the enemies of the country. He contended what was happening in the country today was shameful.

Meher Bano, who is the daughter of vice-Chairman of PTI Shah Mehmood Qureshi, also spoke on the occasion and said her party had fielded 21 females on general seats for the National Assembly, but only five today represented their constituencies in the legislature. “The message given to us was that being women, we will not be able to effectively raise our voice. But we continue to fight for our right for we have been defeated mostly by rejection of votes,” she pointed out.

She explained that in her own constituency, from where she contested the elections, a record 16,500 votes were rejected, whereas in the past, the trend had been maximum 4,000 votes rejection. She regretted that PTI female candidates, including herself, Kanwal Shauzab and Seemabia, had also filed petitions in the election tribunals but they were denied justice and their pleas were not entertained. Meher Bano alleged their party was defeated through a poll fraud and lethal use was made of Form 47.