UMERKOT: PTI Chairman Imran Khan has warned that a repetition of the May 11 rigging in local government elections would lead to anarchy in the country.

Addressing at a public meeting at Allah Wala Chowk here on Monday, Mr Khan said his party had accepted the general elections, not the rigging.

He said the May 11 match was fixed and all provinces had hired four umpires for the task.

The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf plans a series of public gatherings in Sindh, starting from Umerkot.

The PTI chief said tsunami would visit each and every district of Sindh to spread the message of a new Pakistan.

He declared that the construction of Kalabagh dam would not be allowed at any cost until people of all provinces agreed to it. The PTI, he said, did not talk about Sindh-1 or 2 because it wanted a strong and prosperous Pakistan with the unity of all provinces.

Mr Khan said if people really wanted to see what change meant, they should visit Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where the PTI government had ended the practice of transfers of officials at the whims of politicians. He said the KP government would now pass a historical accountability bill which would be different from the one introduced by corrupt governments.

The PTI chairman said that during its tenure his party would make the KP a model province.

PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi said he did not come to Umerkot to contest elections and become a member of the National Assembly, but to bring an end to dirty politics.

He said that if the PTI came to power it would ensure progress of Thar and Umerkot with the income from Thar coal. Billions of tons of coal in Thar could be used to generate energy but people were suffering from loadshedding. It was a glaring example of flawed policies of past governments. The corrupt system and corrupt politicians could not save the country, he added.

He said the people of Umerkot cast 90,000 votes in his favour in the general elections, but in the darkness of nights ‘umpires’ or returning officers allowed the PPP to put stamps on ballot papers.

Mr Qureshi alleged supporters of his party were being politically victimised in Umerkot and Tharparkar districts. Government employees in these districts were being transferred to far-flung areas and fake cases were being registered against them.

He said if people wanted safety of mosques in India, they would have to protect temples of Hindus in Pakistan. Hindu girls had been abducted and forcibly converted. “It is against the teachings of Islam.”

Lal Malhi, elected to the National Assembly on a reserved seat for minorities, said that Altaf Hussain’s demand for dividing Sindh was not just a slogan but the outcome of an understating between the PPP and MQM.

Nadir Akmal Leghari and Jehangir Tareen also addressed the meeting.