CHAKWAL: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan has said the upcoming by-election in the National Assembly constituency of NA-120 (Lahore) is crucial for the country’s future.

Speaking at a rally after inaugurating his party’s membership drive here on Tuesday, he said the election would decide whether the country’s people wanted to stand by the Supreme Court or with the corrupt politicians.

On his arrival here, Mr Khan was given a warm welcome by his party’s leaders and workers and the public. He was brought in a procession from Balkassar Interchange to Chakwal city.

“I spent eight days in jail, where I did not find a single prisoner who was influential. Rather, all of them were in incarceration due to petty crimes. And I found all the big looters in the National Assembly,” he said as the charged gathering shouted slogans against ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif and members of his family.

“But now I foresee a new Pakistan because for the first time in the history of the country accountability of a powerful ruling family has been initiated. We salute the Supreme Court for this,” the PTI chairman said.

Says corruption reference against Shahbaz to be filed soon

He also praised the work of the team which was tasked with carrying out investigations in the Panama Papers case.

Lashing out at the Sharif family, Mr Khan alleged that the “loot committed by this single family” was much bigger than the plunder committed by the entire corrupt lot in the country.

“Hassan Nawaz lives in a palace worth Rs6 billion, which are the Mayfair flats in London,” he said.

Assailing the National Accountability Bureau, Mr Khan said the recent acquittal of former president Asif Ali Zardari in a corruption case by NAB was the outcome of bargaining. “Is it your duty to arrest plunderers, or to give them clean chits?”

He alleged that due to NAB, corruption has increased in the country and that through mutual understanding the Sharifs and Mr Zardari had appointed what he called their own men at the helm of affairs in important national institutions just to protect their interests.

“Who does not know about massive corruption committed by Mr Zardari,” he asked the people, who replied by chanting slogans against the former president.

Mr Khan said a reference against Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif would soon be filed in NAB. “The public money you looted could have been spent on improving condition of schools.”

Describing the membership campaign of his party as a “revolutionary step”, Mr Khan lauded efforts of PTI’s northern region’s vice president Raja Yasir Humayun Sarfraz who prepared the PTI’s digital membership cards.

“Through this card we can know about the wishes of party workers as to which person they would want to see as party’s candidate in the next election,” Mr Khan said.

Later, the PTI chairman also addressed a gathering of women.

Talking to Dawn, Mr Sarfraz said the digital membership cards carried all necessary details about the card holders.

Published in Dawn, August 30th, 2017