ISLAMABAD: The chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Gohar Khan on Saturday deplored the unabated and rising incidents of harassing and attacking party candidates’ proposers and seconders, terming it is the worst kind of misuse of authority and abuse of election process.
Talking to journalists here, he said that the scrutiny of nomination forms for general seats is coming to an end but the state machinery is in full swing against PTI’s candidates whose proposers and seconders or they, themselves, are being openly harassed, assaulted and pushed back from returning officers’ offices.
He pointed out that this was the worst kind of misuse of authority and abuse of process, alleging it as a flagrant failure of ECP in performance of its constitutional duties. “We strongly condemn and deplore this but I would like to urge ‘PTI tigers’ to stay steadfast till February 08 and thereafter,” he added.
PTI secretary general Omar Ayub Khan also vehemently denounced ‘politically motivated’ rejection of nomination papers of PTI leadership and the ongoing spree of ‘abduction and unlawful detention’ of PTI leaders and supporters.
In a post on X, he said that ‘forces of status quo’ did not have the courage to face PTI in a free and fair election; hence they were resorting to these tactics.
He warned that if this pre-poll rigging continued unabated, the transparency of election process is and will be called into question, which would not only further grow the political instability in the country but it would also further erode the national cohesion.
Reacting to the rejecting of nomination papers of PTI’s candidates, Omar Ayub strongly condemned the politically motivated rejection of nomination papers of Murad Saeed, Sahibzada Sighbatullah, Dr Amjad Khan, Fazal Hakim Khan, Mian Sharafat and Salim-ur-Rahman along others.
“Had already predicted that ROs will reject PTI candidates’ nomination papers on flimsy grounds. More rejections of PTI candidates’ nomination papers by ‘under pressure’ ROs are expected today. These ROs ‘software’ has been duly ‘updated’,” he added.
PTI Secretary General make it clear that the forces of status quo represented by parties like PML-N, PPP, JUI-F, MQM cannot face PTI in a free and fair election and are resorting to these tactics.
“These parties should have the courage to contest against PTI in a free and fair election so that a government emerges as per the will of the people that can steer the country out of its current nightmare,” he said.
However, Ayub feared that if this pre-poll rigging continues unabated, the transparency of election process is and will be called into question, adding that political instability will grow exponentially after a rigged election, and national cohesion will further deteriorate.
Reacting to Umar Dar’s ‘abduction’, he said that ‘enforced disappearance’ of Dar and others is not acceptable, adding Dar’s brother who was himself an enforced disappeared person until his ‘forced’ interview.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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