FAISALABAD, Dec 8: Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf has said the general elections are around the corner and the Pakistan People’s Party will emerge victorious.

Speaking to a gathering at Iqbal Stadium here on Saturday, he said 100,000 votes had been deleted from each national assembly constituency to ensure transparency. He said whenever the country had witnessed fair elections, the PPP won.

“Those who come to power with the help of agencies and bogus votes face difficulties as the Asghar Khan case has exposed their faces,” he said. People were just raising slogans of trust on democracy rather than doing anything practical, he said.

He said the PPP had proved its credentials by entrusting a worker (a reference to himself) with the PM slot and now the rival parties should follow suit. He said the PPP and its coalition parties were the guarantors of democracy and they would again come to power in spite of propaganda.

Recalling the hardships the PPP-led government had faced after assuming the power, he said Pakistan had been facing dearth of wheat and importing 2.6 tons of it. Now, it had been able to export the commodity, he said. Similarly, he said, the growers had been receiving Rs600 per 40kg and the return had been increased to Rs1,200 now. He said the government would enhance the scope of the Benazir Income Support Programme after coming to power again.

He announced Rs1.5 million for World Snooker Champion (amateur) Muhammad Asif and a job of his choice. The champion was present along with the PM on stage.

The premier also announced a medical college, a hospital, a stadium, electricity for the Lawyers’ Colony, expansion of the Faisalabad airport runway, drain for Samundri, snooker academy, Astroturf for the hockey stadium, establishment of passport offices in Samundri, Toba Tek Singh and Tandlianwala. He also announced two grid stations in Jaranwala and Chiniot.

PPP Punjab President Manzoor Wattoo claimed the PML-N workers lacked the caliber of the PPP’s.

Meanwhile, security measures for PM’s visit in and around the Iqbal Stadium created problems for commoners. The police did not allow the people to go outside the venue.

The police did not allow the people to go outside the venue. A source said each shop around the venue had been literally ‘sealed’ because of the security threats. He said the policemen on duty faced a great deal of difficulty in controlling the crowds. All inner gates of the stadium pavilion were closed to prevent participants from crossing over.