ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman and former Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday firmly denounced Punjab Deputy Speaker Dost Mazari’s rejection of Pakistan Muslim League Quaid’s (PML-Q) votes casted in favor of joint candidate Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi during the chief minister’s election on July 22. He called for peaceful protests tonight against the outcomes of the Chief Minister (CM) Punjab election.
Addressing the nation in Lahore on Friday night, the PTI chairman told the public and his supporters to register a peaceful protest throughout the country in a bid to let the incumbent government rulers know that “they are not cattles” but are aware of their rights.
Imran Khan said “Everyone is now looking to the Supreme Court (SC).”
Earlier, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Hamza Shahbaz has been reelected as the chief minister (CM) of Punjab after the votes of Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) were rejected by the Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker.
Pervaiz Elahi – joint candidate of PTI and PML-Q – received 186 votes, while Hamza Shahbaz got 179 votes. However. 10 votes of PML-Q were cancelled by Deputy Speaker Dost Muhammad Mazari, hence taking the figure to 176.
“The top court’s ruling on Article 63-A is succinctly clear that party members are bound to follow the orders of the parliamentary party leader in the assembly instead of the party leader,” he emphasized, highlighting how ex-president and Pakistan People’s Party co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari has been ruling Sindh since 14 years, looting wealth of the nation and using it to purchase parliamentarians.
Decrying the stolen Punjab chief minister’s election, Imran blamed Zardari for always “leading the funeral of democracy” in this country.
The former prime minister also shared that he has always prayed that the country’s democracy goes to a place where it is in the west. Imran maintained that the sanctity of the parliament is based on “morality” which was quashed earlier.
“Democracy does not have an army. Parliament does not have an army the army is somewhere else. Parliament has one thing which is morality,” said the PTI chairman. Imran went on to say that “Buying and selling was visible clearly at Sindh House. Public representatives were sold through stolen money.”
The PTI chief added how the public mandate was sacrificed just to let the looters rule. He urged the SC to make the right decision as all the eyes were on them.
“I started this Jihad against Zardari and his gang 26 years ago. The easy way out for me was to give all of them a NRO but I did not nor will I ever for the sake of my people.”
The PTI chief said that no action was taken against the horse trading of lawmakers during the last Senate polls despite the footage of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Yousaf Raza Gillani’s son had surfaced.
“We have defeated the state machinery, all political parties and the corrupt election commission. When this CM Punjab election was underway, Asif Ali Zardari was present in the province. I was fully aware of the trade of consciences by Zardari by using the stolen public funds.”
“These people are mafias, not politicians. I am surprised after witnessing what happened in the Punjab Assembly today despite the clear direction of Article 63A which defines the enforcement of the parliamentary party’s decision. PTI had also sent the letter against the 25 turncoats through the parliamentary leader.”
Imran Khan censured that he does not know the eligibility of the Punjab Assembly’s deputy speaker as his letter was rejected by the parliament but Dost Mazari used a letter in the favor of Hamza Shahbaz.
