BAHAWALPUR: Pakis­tan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan on Friday said that the July 25 polls would decide the fate of Pakistan, and the PTI’s election symbol ‘bat’ would inflict on the party’s opponents, who have been taking turns to rule over the country, a crushing defeat.

Speaking at his party’s power show at the Dring Hockey Stadium, Mr Khan lashed out at Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz supremo Mian Nawaz Sharif and Pakistan Peoples Party co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari, alleging that the two leaders had done nothing for the country other than plunder it.

He said the two leaders had become billionaires while the rest of the country remained poor. The PTI chief accused them of leaving the nation reeling under crushing debt which they could not repay. Pakis­tan could only pay back its loans if there was no corruption in the country, he said, adding that Mr Sharif and Mr Zardari had weakened the nation during their respective tenures.

Feels certain it’s bat’s turn to inflict on PTI’s opponents a crushing defeat

He claimed that nearly 75 per cent of the people in Sindh were below the poverty line, and added that such injustice should not be allowed to prevail in any society. He reiterated his party promise of creating a southern Punjab province if voted to power, and added that he would build the Bhasha dam to provide relief to farmers who faced an acute shortage of irrigation water.

After coming to power, the PTI would announce a special package for farmers who had been exploited by previous governments, he said. The PTI would make sure that sugarcane growers got their payments on time, while defaulting sugar mills would be blacklisted. The PTI would present its ministers and leaders for accountability if the party came to power, he said, adding that his party had previously expelled 30 lawmakers found to be involved in corrupt practices.

After coming to power, national institutions like the Federal Bureau of Revenue, National Accoun­tability Bureau and others would be strengthened, he promised. The Punjab police would be set right, he promised, while adding that no political leaders in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had been booked in any cases.

The PTI chief appealed to the audience to think of Pakistan’s future when deciding who to vote for on July 25.

Separately, in a video message addressed to the voters in NA-131, Lahore, where Mr Khan is contesting the polls against PML-N’s Khawaja Saad Rafique, the PTI chief said the upcoming general election would present the opportunity that would help the nation change the course of its fate.

“The nation’s fate will not be changed, if people decided to vote for the PML-N and PPP,” he said.

He asked voters of NA-131 to come out of their homes and encourage others to go and vote for the PTI on July 25. “There should be a record turnout of voters in NA-131,” he said, and added that the people’s vote would help shape the future of their children.

Separately, PTI’s central Punjab candidate Abdul Aleem Khan, who is contesting from NA-129, also released a video message urging people to come out of their homes on polling day and vote for the PTI. “The Kaptan will not disappoint the nation,” he asserted.

He stressed that people should come out to vote against those who have been looting and exploiting the nation for the past three decades. “Give a chance to Imran Khan for the creation of a Naya Pakistan,” he said.

Mansoor Malik from Lahore also contributed to the story

Published in Dawn, July 21st, 2018