LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senior leader and former federal minister Farrukh Habib was confident that Punjab Assembly Speaker Parvaiz Elahi will be elected as the Punjab Chief Minister with a clear majority.

While talking to the media on Thursday, he said they will hold Hamza Shehbaz accountable for issuing illegal orders and misusing provincial resources. He further said that the results of July 17 by-elections shocked the coalition government; “the people strongly responded to the rigging on that day. High turnout on the election day neutralized all the rigging plans. The turncoats were the biggest losers whose political career had come to an end,” he added.

He said that the people did not accept the ‘imported’ government of Shehbaz Sharif and the ‘fake’ Chief Minister. He accused the opponents of trying to buy the loyalties of their legislators. “However, the people rejected greed,” he added.

He lamented the government for failing to handle the economy and said that factories were closing while people lost their jobs. He averred that the rulers were only focused on saving their seats and only the law of jungle prevails in the country. He criticised Federal Law Minister Rana Sanaullah for saying that five PTI lawmakers will disappear and added that he was openly making threats.

He was also critical of the Election Commission of Pakistan and accused it of being biased; “the constitutional institutions were favouring both the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the PML-N”. He pointed out that the Election Commission cannot blatantly violate the Constitution.

On the appointment of the new National Accountability Bureau Chairman, he said that the government was pondering over the name of a close aide of Nawaz Sharif. On this occasion, PTI leader and former provincial minister Mian Aslam Iqbal said that the PML-N and PPP have sold their conscience to America in exchange for dollars and properties. “The people rejected the lawmakers after becoming turncoats,” he added.

He accused PPP Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari of opening a cattle market in Bilawal House and attempts were being made to buy opposition parliamentarians. “The people have rejected the narrative of Nawaz Shahbaz and we have full faith in our MPAs,” he added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022