Imran confident of success even if next polls rigged

Says went to polls in 2013 without preparation; believes Nawaz can’t escape PanamaLeaks’ outcome; women teased at Kasur meeting

KASUR: Chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Imran Khan has said his party went to the polls in 2013 without any preparation. But now its preparations for the upcoming 2018 elections are unprecedented, and his party will stage a great win even if the elections are rigged.

He was talking to a Geo News reporter exclusively after his public meeting in the Khudian town of Kasur on Sunday. Earlier, addressing a big gathering, Imran said Nawaz Sharif would find no way out to escape the consequences of the PanamaLeaks if the letter written by the Qatari prince was proved false or Maryam Nawaz Sharif turns out to be the real owner of the London flats. He said Nawaz Sharif must tell the nation from where he gathered his wealth. 

The stage was erected on the Deepalpur Road near Sabzi Mandi Khudian, as the district administration had refused to allow the public meeting at the Sports Complex. Imran said China had succeeded in steering its 1.39 billion population out of abject poverty with the help of good economic policies and a good justice system. He regretted that two different laws are in practice in the country: one for the poor and the other for the rich. He said the Sharif family was plundering wealth through development projects in the country and sending it to Panama to make properties abroad.

The PTI chief said when the Sharif family came to power, it owned only one factory, but within just 12 years, it made 30 factories. He regretted that now the rulers had given permission to set up five more sugar mills in an area which was good for producing cotton. He said during the last 30 years of rule, the Sharif family had only plundered wealth while the nation was deprived of even basic facilities of life, including clean drinking water, health and education.

Imran also referred to the case of Zuhra Bibi of Kasur, who died at the floor of a state-run hospital and was denied treatment. He said many Zuhras die this way in Pakistan while the rulers and their children go abroad for treatment.

Imran said the Sharif brothers spent Rs12 billion on advertisements for self-projection while a hospital like the Shaukat Khanum requires only Rs4 billion to be built. He said the budget of Balochistan was only Rs15 billion. He said people were reluctant to pay taxes because they believe that rulers are corrupt and plunderers. He said Pakistan is the only country where people give away money in charities and alms more but were reluctant to pay taxes. He said the rulers get loans to fill their pockets but the common people pay these loans. He said people were paying 50 per cent tax on the purchase of petrol and diesel and 17 per cent in the form of general sales tax (GST). He said money from Pakistan was flying abroad due to corruption.

The PTI chief said the plight of farmers was pitiable and that was due to corrupt practices of the rulers. He said a farmer in India was comparatively prosperous as the government there was providing them cheap fertilizers, insecticides and electricity.

He challenged Nawaz Sharif to a debate in the assembly and forbade him to use abusive language through 'Motu Gang'. He said Talal Chaudhry was abusing him (Imran) the same way as he (Talal) used to abuse Nawaz Sharif during the Musharraf regime.

Sheikh Rasheed said the next general elections would be held in 2017 rather than in 2018. He said people were hiding behind the letter of the Qatari prince. He said the coffin of the PML-N would emerge soon from the apex court and the PTI would get justice.

Shah Mehmood Qureshi said the district administration had closed all the roads leading to the venue but it had opened the path of future as he was seeing a new Pakistan. He also applauded the size of the gathering. Other important speakers on the occasion were Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri, Aleem Khan, Asif Nakai and former PPP MPA Sardar Muhammad Hussain Dogar.

Meanwhile, some people continued teasing woman participants in the meeting. The victims cried for help but no one came to their rescue. Hundreds of villagers also took away chairs with them after the meeting. The Deepalpur Road remained closed for all types of traffic from morning to evening on Sunday.

The Kasur city PTI Youth Wing, Labour Wing, Trade Wing and founding workers boycotted Imran Khan’s show. They regretted that after the joining of some rich local politicians, they were ignored by the PTI chief.