Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Tuesday demanded a thorough audit of the entire results of the May 11, 2013 general elections, saying that the time to meet his demand to verify the votes of four constituencies was over. Speaking at a press conference at his Bani Gala residence after attending the party's Core Committee meeting, Khan vowed to go ahead with his scheduled Independence Day 'million march' on Islamabad.
"The time to verify votes in four constituencies is over [and] now we demand audit of each and every vote cast in the last year general elections on the pattern employed in Afghanistan. Everything has been exposed and the government could not conceal massive rigging so there is no option but to go for the audit of the entire election results," Khan added. About the likely postponement of his party's August 14 'long march', he said the party had used each and every option in the last 14 months to seek a resolution of the issue but now they had decided to hold a peaceful march, "which is our legal and democratic right." He claimed that both the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the then caretaker government were involved in what he said the worst-ever vote rigging. He said that after the audit of ballots, it would become crystal clear how they rigged the elections.
"Yes, there is no second opinion about it. There will be mid-term elections after ballots' audit. We've evidence and we will present it on August 14. Our rally will start from Lahore and will reach Islamabad in the evening of August 14," Khan declared. The PTI chairman was all praise for Co-chairman Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Asif Ali Zardari, saying that he had also realised that Nawaz Sharif was acting like a king and not a democratically-elected prime minister.
"At least he [Zardari] is not lying like Nawaz Sharif. If his money is abroad, he plainly says that he will never bring it back...what these people [PML-N] are doing speaks for itself," he added. He said the government had declared to celebrate the Independence Day as it was afraid of 'PTI's tsunami'. In the same breath, Khan said the Punjab Police had the golden opportunity to prove that they were not for serving the Sharifs rather their job was to protect people.
"What the Punjab police did in Model Town in Lahore was shameful. The police of Pakistan cannot stoop so low and whatever happened there [Model Town] could only be done by the servants of Nawaz Sharif," he said. The PTI chairman warned that any attempt to baton charge the peaceful marchers on August 14 by police would prove to be the last nail in the coffin of the present government.
He recalled that Nawaz Sharif made unflinching commitment with the nation before coming into power that he would resolve the burgeoning issue of loadshedding. "But he [Nawaz Sharif] miserably failed in resolving the crisis," he lamented. To a question about the ongoing military operation, Imran accused the Prime Minister of putting the lives of army personnel in danger for the sake of his chair, adding that the prime minister had assured him that would take him (Imran) into confidence before launching a military offensive but it did not happen.
He demanded of the government to release Rs 20 billion for the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) of North Waziristan Agency (NWA). "The success of the military operation is linked with the proper handling of IDPs or else the efforts made by the army will become fruitless," he maintained. Khan also asked the Prime Minister to step down.
"The national and international NGOs should come forward to help the IDPs, as about 400,000 of them are children who need proper care. "Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif along with his son Hamza Shahbaz, who is acting as deputy CM, must stop these photo sessions with IDPs, as this is not the time for politics," he added.
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