PTI protests against alleged vote rigging persist countrywide

KARACHI/LAHORE: Demanding a fair reelection in Karachi and NA-122-125 in Lahore, Pakistan Terhreek-e-Insaf (PTI) supporters are holding onto their protest demonstrations against alleged massive vote rigging, Geo News reported.

According to details a large number of PTI cohorts predominantly women converged at Teen Talwar area of Clifton Sunday evening to register their protest against what they called the most outrageous manipulation of votes in the history of Pakistan.

Chanting slogans against the riggers protestors are demanding of the Election Commission of Pakistan to investigate this “PTI mandate theft” without delay. They added that the protest would continue until the ECP took effective action.

They alleged that hundreds of illegal votes were cast at gunpoint at many polling stations.

"The unreasonable holdup in the polling, the late arrival of balloting material, and the harassment the PTI voters were subjected to, are screaming that PTI fell prey to a criminal vote-rigging conspiracy ", said a woman protestor.

"We have not taken to streets for any personal reasons. We are here for a positive change. You cannot restrain a tsunami for too long", said a youth at the protest.

It was also reported later that unknown gunmen opened fired on the protestors injuring at least two people.

In Lahore, a multitude of young PTI stalwarts from various posh areas of the city are protesting at the Ghazi Chowk (Walton), an area of the NA-125. They blocked the main road for all traffic.

PTI loyalists said that according to early unofficial results Imran Khan and Hamid Khan from NA-122 and NA-125 respectively leading with a great margin but later ECP declared them as losers.

According to media reports PTI protesters who were led by Fauzia Kasuri shouted slogans against rigging in NA-125, Hamid Khan Advocate's constituency.

They said initially Hamid emerged as a winner with a lead of 13,000 votes over PML-N's Khwaja Saad Rafiq who was later declared victorious unofficially.

PTI protestors accused PML-N candidate Malik Pervez of blackjacking the returning officers into manipulating voting results to Saad Rafiqe's favour.

Earlier Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Arif Alvi said at least at four polling stations in Defence Housing Authority (DHA) polling did not start for hours.

“PTI supporters fully understand difficulties created to stop them from voting & winning and senior PTI leadership is raising issues at all levels”, he added.

According to sources Alvi was likely to speak at the protest demonstration.

Israr Abbasi, a PTI candidate from Sindh PS-114, said the party would continue to hold sit-ins across the city and the knock doors of the courts for reelections in Karachi.

"We will fight until the last moment, but the others parties left the ground for MQM by withdrawing their candidates," Abbasi said.

PTI chief Imran Khan has alleged that his party had been affected by rigging in Punjab and Sindh provinces. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf will bring out a "white paper" on the alleged rigging so that such practices could be prevented in future, he said.