ISLAMABAD: Prominent PPP leaders on Tuesday called the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s 100-day plan a classic case of pre-poll rigging and said an environment was being created to imply that the PTI was going to win the upcoming elections.

PPP Information Secretary Nafisa Shah told a press conference at the National Press Club (NPC) that a “psychological game” had begun to portray PTI Chairman Imran Khan as the next prime minister.

“In 2013, the PTI announced a 90-day plan but it could not be implemented. How can its new plan be implemented by adding just 10 more days? I believe that it is an agenda of 100 years,” she said, adding: “The lectures given by five personalities on the day of the announcement of the 100-day plan looked like [National Defence University] or Staff College lectures.”

She went on to call MNA Asad Umar’s lecture – during which he talked about four tourist sites and the appointment of a hero as Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) chairman – a wish list.

Psychological game to portray Imran Khan as new premier has begun, says PPP information secretary

“Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervez Khattak said he spent three months briefing his officers on the plan. Another person who spoke was Jahangir Khan Tareen, who is a landlord and has been disqualified for politics. Whatever Shah Mehmood Qureshi said was already mentioned in the PPP manifesto,” she said.

Discussing Imran Khan, she said he attended 20 out of 550 National Assembly sessions and would do the same if he becomes the prime minister.

She added: “The party that used to speak about principles and ethics has accepted as many as 100 lotas [turncoats] in the last 50 days.”

Senator Moula Bux Chandio said PTI’s 100-day plan could not be completed in five years, and described it as pre-poll rigging.

“It is strange that according to the PTI’s philosophy, personalities in political parties apart from the PTI are corrupt but they become honest the day they join PTI,” he remarked.

Criticising the PML-N, Mr Chandio said former prime minister Nawaz Sharif used to allege that the PPP leader was a thief but now he (Mr Sharif) had become an international thief.

He also claimed that the PPP had taken a number of measures for the betterment of the public.

“The Benazir Income Support Programme is the best programme, and the PML-N could not give any such programme in the last five years. We recently won the elections of the CDA and PIA trade unions which showed the PPP was becoming popular again,” he said.

Senator Rubina Khalid said the claim of change was an illusion because it was only on social media that it was claimed that KP had progressed.

She said during the tenure of the PPP, 90pc of work on a burn centre in KP was completed but the PTI deliberately decided not to carry on the remaining work.

PPP KP Humayun Khan said in 2013 Imran Khan had claimed that he would address all issues of the province but now people have become aware of his false claims.

Published in Dawn, May 23rd, 2018