PTI warned against staging dharna
07 January, 2015
ISLAMABAD - Apparently, disappointed over the government response, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Tuesday 6,Janaury,2015 warned PML-N it would resume its protest campaign if the proposed judicial commission was not formed till January 18 to probe allegations of rigging in 2013 general elections. “If the government does not announce formation of the judicial commission till January 18, we will no more remain silent and announce plans of our next protest movement,” PTI Chairman Imran Khan said in a press conference at his Bani Gala residence immediately after attending his party’s core committee meeting. Khan said PTI would announce its next protest movement from D-Chowk of the Constitution Avenue on January 18 if the commission was not announced till that date.
Khan said the government was playing a game and wanted to benefit from the situation after the Peshawar attack. PTI ended its 126-day sit-in at the Constitution Avenue following the deadly terrorist attack on the Peshawar Army Public School as the country could not afford sit-ins at that moment. Imran Khan warned the government to set up the judicial commission otherwise the party would once again be on the roads. Khan said PTI was the party with the largest street power and it would not hesitate to re-launch protest movement if the judicial commission was not formed.
Khan said PTI ended the sit-in to root out terrorism after the December 16 incident of Peshawar and supported the government. “We made our own decision and did not take dictation from anyone,” he made it clear. Khan said PTI took the bitter pill of military courts despite reservations of his party’s legal experts. He said the government had assured them of setting up judicial commission, but later it transpired that the PML-N wanted such a commission as could not check bogus polled votes. He said PTI wanted the commission to investigate every aspect of rigging, but the government was delaying its formation. About audit of election results of NA-122, Imran said he had lost the seat because more than 30,000 bogus votes were polled that carried no signatures or stamp of presiding officers. Ballot papers of different colours were recovered from the boxes of 100 polling stations. “We have proof of such ballot papers as bore the same serial numbers while at 97 polling stations, presiding officers issued two different kinds of results,” he said. Jehangir Tareen lost his seat because 49,000 fake votes were polled in NA 154, he added.
Responding to a question, Khan did not deny the news about his marriage and said, “Contracting second marriage is not a crime.” Khan said he had delayed the decision because his children were so younger at that time. “Now my children are grown up and I have consulted them during my London visit,” he said, adding he would give good news about his marriage in one week,” he added.
Senior PTI leaders, Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Jehangir Tareen, Dr Shireen Mazari, Hamid Khan and Naeemul Haq, were also present at the press conference.
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