200 CNICs recovered from PTI worker in Lahore ahead of by-polls

LAHORE: As many as 200 identity cards were recovered Saturday from Khalid Sindhu, a PTI worker, from Lahore's Factory Area just a day before the crucial by-elections in the city's four constituencies.

The police said that Sindhu was planning to buy votes through ID cards in the PP-168 constituency.

He bought the voters' ID cards in several union councils (UCs) of PP-168, Lahore, in exchange for money.

Police said that Sindhu revealed that some people demanded Rs2,000 and others Rs3,000 in exchange for their ID cards. Following his arrest, police registered a case against the PTI worker.

Punjab will witness intense political activity tomorrow (Sunday) as the make-or-break by-elections on 20 provincial constituencies will take place — that will decide who will become the next chief minister of the province.

The 20 seats fell vacant after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) “de-seated” 25 PTI dissident lawmakers on May 23 — which included five lawmakers elected on reserved seats for women and minorities — for voting against PML-N's Hamza Shehbaz in the Punjab chief minister's election.

'No instructions given by me': Farrukh Habib

PTI senior leader Farrukh Habib responded to a video going viral on social media, saying that the "chat leaked by the PML-N does not indicate that I gave instructions to collect ID cards."

A video has been circulating on the internet which shows a chat between Habib and Sindhu that took place on June 29, 2022. It shows Sindhu sending a bunch of pictures of ID cards to the PTI leader that he allegedly bought on his instructions.

To this, Habib said that he is only campaigning in this constituency, circulating the party's message and mobilising.

He added that the [PML-N} created fake chats. "I have met this person [Sindhu] only once in the last week of June. I did not meet him after that neither directed him to do something," said Habib.