LAHORE: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s (PTI) by-election campaign concluded on a high note on Friday with party leaders, members and supporters gathered in large numbers at Qartaba Chowk, Jail Road. The party’s flags fluttered as anthems blared on speakers and party chief Imran Khan took to the stage accusing Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of ‘robbing’ the nation.

Claiming the prime minister was the most corrupt person in the country, Imran Khan urged the people of Lahore to vote for cricket bat (PTI’s election symbol) on Sunday’s by-elections for NA-122 and PP-147 constituencies.

Also read: Imran blasts Nawaz for ‘corruption’, ‘inefficiency’

The PTI’s election campaign steadily picked momentum over the last month. On Friday it touched new heights as a charged crowd carrying party banners and flags, leaders’ portraits and pictures of cricket bats arrived at the party’s final public gathering before the by-election. In his concluding speech, Imran Khan said the PTI candidate, Abdul Aleem Khan, had carried out a brilliant campaign that caused alarm in the PML-N camp. Aleem Khan forced the ruling party to bring in its ministers to counter their campaign, Imran added.

Amidst party slogans, including the Insafians’ favourite “Go Nawaz Go”, Khan said he was happy with the response from Lahore and urged everyone to ensure that nobody rigged the election this time. Imran Khan added that PML-N’s Ayaz Sadiq had won the election against him through rigging and had not returned to the constituency afterwards. “The people of this constituency continue to suffer while drinking unhygienic water, passing through streets inundated with sewage water and lack of education and health facilities,” he lamented.

Addressing Nawaz Sharif directly for the third consecutive time in the by-election campaign, Mr Khan derided him for pitting his “darbaris” against him. He asked the prime minister to explain to the nation how he [Nawaz Sharif] could make Rs200 billion while paying a maximum of Rs5,000 in tax. He challenged the PML-N leaders to ask Nawaz Sharif about his assets, including those piled up abroad. “My life and death is with Pakistan and will never run to Jeddah like the Sharif family,” said the PTI chief.

Responding to PML-N’s questions about party funding, Khan attacked the ruling party’s character and waved affidavits from former DG ISI Gen Durrani and Khalid Khwaja, where Mr Durrani admitted that he gave Mehran Bank’s money to Nawaz Sharif, while Kahlid Khwaja said that he presented Osama Bin Laden’s money to Nawaz Sharif to topple the government in 1989. “Nawaz Sharif had even ‘stolen’ money from that fund for himself,” alleged Imran Khan.

He added that corruption was rampant in Pakistan and claimed that Bangladesh’s foreign reserves had reached some 30 billion dollars, while Pakistan was still standing with 20 billion dollars. Aleem Khan, the PTI candidate, said the “takht Lahore would fall on Oct 11” and vowed that he would become a real messiah for residents of the constituency. “Your problems will be solved and you will have safe drinking water, a proper sewerage system, better environment in public schools and proprietary rights to those living in slums.”

Other speakers included Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Jahangir Tareen.

Published in Dawn, October 10th , 2015

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