LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) senior leader and former federal information minister Fawad Chaudhry said whatever foul tactics the ‘imported government’ adopts, PTI will achieve success in the by-elections, “We are hoping to secure 16 seats,” he added.

While addressing a press conference here on Saturday, Fawad said the by-elections in Punjab started with rigging; “anyone who joins the PTI in Punjab was made a criminal while fake cases were being made against their candidates.”

“Moreover, state machinery was being used to stop the PTI candidates from campaigning while illegal arrests were being made in Punjab. Whoever was supporting the PTI was arrested while the people active in the election campaign were also being implicated in fake cases,” he added.

About Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), he said the courts rejected all its decisions and today the court also suspended the ECP’s decision not to hire polling agents from another place. “Ironically, no one was questioning the Election Commission,” he added.

Fawad Chaudhry further said the budget session was not held in the Punjab Assembly and thus all government spending was illegal. “Planes were converted into rickshaws in Punjab while election campaigns were carried out on helicopters at government expense, all these will be accounted for when the time comes,” he said.

The PTI leader said in a democracy one has to show a majority to head a government, but Hamza Shehbaz prefers dictatorship.

PTI senior leader Senator Ejaz Chaudhry and central Punjab general secretary Hammad Azhar were also present on the occasion.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022