ISLAMABAD: The opposition leader in National Assembly Omar Ayub declared on Thursday that jailed ex-prime minister Imran Khan will mark February 8 as a “black day” in his Adiala jail’s prison cell to register his strong protest against last year’s worst polls rigging.
“On this day [February 8, 2024], the people’s mandate and our party’s precious votes were stolen,” he told reporters, adding, the people will take to the streets from every nook and corner of the country on February 8.
About the party’s upcoming scheduled protest in Swabi, Ayub called upon the people to take to the streets in large numbers to register their strong protests, saying this was the day when people’s mandate was stolen.
PTI central information secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram lambasted the federal government for its inaction regarding the appointment of a new chief election commissioner, as Sikander Sultan Raja’s term ended last month on January 26.
Emphasising the significance of the electoral commission, Akram remarked, “The ECP is a constitutional body but it has miserably failed to undertake its constitutional obligation, given this, the chief election commissioner must go home.”
“There is a long list of grievances, including the theft of the public mandate, but the ECP was hand in gloves with the mandate thief ruling elite which had only secured 17 seats in the last year’s general elections,” he regretted.
He confirmed that a complaint against ECP chief Sikandar Raja has been lodged with the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), adding the PTI would not accept any further delay in the appointment of a new CEC.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025