LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) secretary general Salman Akram Raja says his party has no expectation from the judiciary after the 26th constitutional amendment, apprehending that the decisions regarding the country will now be taken on the roads.

“The PTI’s protest movement is on multiple fronts and the nation should come out in support of the party leaders and workers to wage a jihad against a government formed on the basis of a stolen mandate,” Mr Raja said while speaking at a press conference at the Lahore Press Club on Monday.

He said the nation yet again suffered a tragedy as the Sambrial by-election was “stolen with full force of the state.”

He alleged that there was a “war-like” situation at every polling station in Sambrial and that the rulers had become dictators. “The judiciary has no guts to apply its mind,” he added.

Alleges Sambrial by-poll was stolen with state might

Mr Raja said party founder Imran Khan was in jail for the sake of his principles and the well-being of the nation and now it was the duty of people of Pakistan to participate in the movement to get Mr Khan out of jail.

Opposition Leader in the Punjab Assembly Malik Ahmad Khan Bhachar alleged the police crossed all limits of fascism during the Sumbrial by-election, as they tortured and dragged party workers, including women, ensuring polling of bogus votes.

“Police ensured casting of 80,000 votes for the PML-N in the by-election, while only 20 per cent voting was done until 3pm,” he said. He added that the police tried to create scenes so that more party workers could be booked in “fake” May 9-like cases..

He said Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz had failed to justify herself in Punjab and now even the powers that be know the PML-N government had failed to come up to their expectations.

Answering a question, Mr Bhachar said Mr Khan’s sons had all the moral authority to visit the world to muster up support for their jailed father. He said the former prime minister’s sons had shown their maturity and no one could stop them from entering into politics in Pakistan.

PTI Central Punjab president Ahmad Chatha said democracy had been eroded in Pakistan as people were not being allowed to elect their representatives.

He alleged that the Punjab government began the rigging when it appointed its officers as returning officers with a clear mandate of ensuring victory for the ruling party candidate in the by-poll. He claimed that some presiding officers told him that they were forced to stamp and sign ballot papers much before the beginning of the voting process.

“Some 40,000 fake votes were polled during the Sambrial by-election,” Mr Chatha alleged.

Published in Dawn, June 3rd, 2025