DASKA, Feb 21 (APP):Minister for Information and Broadcasting Senator Shibli Faraz Sunday said Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf candidate Ali Asjad Malhi had won the by-election in NA-75 Daska and the Election Commission of Pakistan should announce the results.
He was talking to journalists, flanked by Minister for Science and Technology Chaudhry Fawad Hussain, Usman Dar, Special Assistant to Punjab Chief Minister on Information Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan and Asjad Malhi.
The minister said the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leadership was frustrated as the anti-state narrative of Muhammad Nawaz Sharif had lost the support of masses. On the contrary, Prime Minister Imran Khan enjoyed a massive support of the people.
Shibli Faraz said the PML-N was scared as Iman Khan wanted to bring transparency in the electoral process by eliminating any chances of rigging and the politics of intimidation.
It had already lost their political roots in some constituencies, he added.
He said the PML-N was in the habit of doing politics of intimidation, hooliganism and bribe, and its leadership repeated that practice by sending Rana Sanaullah, Javed Latif and others, who were specialists in vandalism, to create law and order situation in Daska, where peaceful electioneering was underway.
Now the PML-N leaders were shedding crocodile tears over the killing of two workers, that had refreshed the memories of Model Town massacre in which innocent women and children were brutally killed, he added.
He alleged that the assassination of workers on the polling day was held under the patronage of Rana Sanaullah, the man responsible for the Model Town killings.
PML-N leaders during their election campaign in Daska used to say that they will win the elections with the power of gun.
He said due to mass acceptance of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s narrative, the PTI had got more votes in Daska and Wazirabad constituencies in recent by elections as compared to elections 2018. The difference between the votes polled to PTI and PML-N in Wazirabad has narrowed from 33,000 to only 4,000.
The lead of PML-N was 40,000 in 2018 but they were being defeated in Daska the last day by-elections.
Castigating the opposition, he said they had already been exposed owing to hypocrisy shown in their non-interest in making the Senate elections transparent and stopping vote buying or purchasing.
In the past Senate elections, the opposition parties had indulged in vote buying and purchasing to bring elite class in the upper house of the parliament.
He said that the government was working hard to introduce electronic voting system to ensure transparency. Legislation was being enacted to give right to vote to expatriate Pakistanis, he said.
He thanked the people of Daska for reposing confidence over PTI in the by elections.
He said he has come to Daska to condole over the assassination of party workers and sympathize with the bereaved families.
Speaking on the occasion, Minister for Science and Technology, Chaudhry Fawad Hussain said his ministry has developed a technology for electronic voting which would be transferred to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) soon.
The technology has been developed with the support of National Institute of Electronics, National University of Science and Technology and COMSATS and it would help ensure transparency in the election process through electronic voting. “Electronic voting can help get rid of rigging in elections”, he said.
Chaudhry Fawad said we had also presented election reform bill for adopting electronic voting system in elections to end malpractices.
The minister stated that the opposition complained of rigging in the by-polls only in the constituency where Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) candidate won however their own candidates won in Nowshera and Wazirabad which they accepted happily.
The minister said although we had spent crore of rupees in the past during contesting by-election in each union council during the whole week but when late Kalsoom Nawaz contested election, Rs three billion were spent in a single constituency without any audit.
Chaudhry Fawad said that we should have raised allegations of rigging when Maryam Nawaz in her tweet announced the election result late night at 1:00 am, declaring her victory.
Rejecting the baseless claims of Maryam Nawaz regarding delay in results in Daska, Chaudhry Fawad said “We do not live on Mars and are well aware of the fog situation in the area.”
He demanded the ECP to issue formal notification about winning of PTI candidate, Ali Asjad Malhi from NA-75 (Daska).
“We have not been celebrating the victory of our candidate due to the deaths of two persons near the polling station in Daska as we are here to express our condolences to the bereaved family members”, he said.
The victory of Ali Asjad Malhi would be celebrated on our next visit, he added.
He said that Ali Asjad Malhi election was as transparent as it was held in other constituencies of Wazirabad, Nowshera and Karachi. “We lost elections in Karachi and Nowshera but have not raised any allegation of rigging and accepted the results. This is the real difference between a democratic party and a non democratic party which grew up in the lap of a dictator.
Chaudhry Fawad also stated that the videos of horse trading have become public now and the masses had seen the real faces of those involved in this practice.
“We want to end the practice of rigging in the elections and have been demanding that elections should be open which is not acceptable for the opposition”, he said.
The minister condemned the attack on Geo and Jang Media Groups central office by protestors in Karachi and asked the police to take action against those involved.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Usman Dar said the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) was rejected by the voters in the Daska bye-election, which had used every tactic to manipulate the polls.
The mafias had been exposed in the NA-75 Daska, who should now accept the public decision against them. He requested the Chief Election Commissioner to announce the results as the PTI candidate had won the NA-75 seat with a margin of 7,827 votes.
He said he had come there on the instructions of Prime Minister Imran Khan to congratulate the PTI workers, who had got their candidate elected by fully participating in the voting process.
Usman Dar said he had asked the PML-N leadership to visit the family of deceased workers, who had lost their lives on the polling day in Daska, but they probably did not realize their moral responsibility in that regard.
The PTI leaders attended the funeral prayers of martyred workers and also expressed solidarity with their families, he added.
He said the PML-N leadership had leveled baseless allegations, but they could not present even a single evidence of rigging in the election. Had the PTI the government machinery in the by-elections, then why its candidates were defeated in other constituencies, he asked.
Usman Dar said first time in the country, an election was held in which there was no interference from the government, which was working to bring transparency in the electoral process.
He alleged, “Rana Sanaullah had attacked the polling station with armed goons and created unrest in the area.” He created a situation in Daska like that of the Model Town tragedy.
Rana Sanaullah was the mastermind of the gory Model Town, incident which had taken place during the PML-N’s last government in Punjab, he added.
Ali Asjad Malhi, the candidate of NA 75 Daska strongly denied the allegations of enduring defeat in his own village, saying his family had never lost the elections from his village since 1947. In the last day’s elections, he won the elections with the lead of 1,000 votes.
Condemning the celebrations of PML-N despite assassination of political workers, he said PTI did not celebrate the win due to killings. He will share the names of murders to media. He will soon represent Daska in the National Assembly.