BAHAWALPUR: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf Secretary-General Jahangir Tareen says the Supreme Court’s decision to disqualify Nawaz Sharif for good can’t be reversed and he is bound to appear before the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for further trial.

Speaking to the media and the crowd that turned up outside the Bahawalpur airport to welcome him on Saturday, he hit out at Nawaz and described his rally as “Qatil rally” -- a reference to the loss of lives in accidents during the movement of the caravan. He said no PML-N leader attended the funeral prayers of the child who was knocked to death by a vehicle.

He said if NAB failed to take action against Nawaz, the PTI would move the accountability institution in September. He said Nawaz was under immense pressure and inciting the public to confront the national institutions.

Earlier, Mr Tareen was accorded a warm welcome at the airport when he reached en route his constituency of Lodhran for the first time after the Supreme Court verdict. A number of activists and office-bearers including women and children of the PTI and Insaf Students Federation (ISF) converged to welcome their leader. The roads leading to the airport via Fauji Basti and canal were full of vehicles of the PTI workers and supporters.

Besides the city, the PTI workers had also reached the airport from Noorpur Noranga, Ahmedpur East, Dhoorekote, Hasilpur, Cholistan and Lodhran.

The people of Lodhran had also arranged his welcome at Bahawalpur Toll Plaza, where he said Kalsoom Nawaz had not declared her assets in the nomination papers for NA-120. He expressed hope that PTI candidate Dr Yasmeen Rashid would win the by-election.

MULTAN: The PTI leader spoke to reporters in Multan as well and claimed that Nawaz Sharif wanted to have martial law imposed in the country by creating mayhem. He said the ex-prime minister was using derogatory remarks against the judiciary and army.

“To conceal his corruption, Nawaz is bringing the masses on roads against the judiciary and is trying to create unrest,” said Mr Tareen. He said the dignity of the judiciary had further increased at the international level following its decision in the Panama Papers case.

“Nawaz Sharif, Shahbaz Sharif and the PML-N ministers will be responsible if the martial law is imposed in the country,” he said. He said had Nawaz accepted the PTI chairman’s demand for vote recount in four constituencies, he would not have been disqualified.

Published in Dawn, August 13th, 2017