- Opposition parties stage protest outside of ECP office
- Demands resignation of ECP officials over rigging in elections
- Says would observe struggle day for independence instead of celebrating Independence Day on Aug 14
- Shehbaz Sharif, Bilawal Bhutto have not attended the rally
ISLAMABAD, August 8: Pakistan Alliance for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFE), an amalgam of 11 political parties formed against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), staged protest outside Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) office, against alleged rigging in General Elections 2018.
Leaders of opposition parties including Ahsan Iqbal, Pervez Rasheed, Zahid Hamid, Afrasyab Khattak, Zahid Khan, Khawaja Asif, Mushahidullah Khan, Rashid Mehmood Somro, Raja Pervez Ashraf, Sherry Rehman, Khursheed Shah, Raja Zafarul Haq, Senator Chaudhry Tanveer, Nehal Hashmi, Mushahid Hussain, Abdul Ghafoor Hyderi, Usman Kakar, Zahid Khan, Mehmood Achakzai and Bushra Gohar are participated in the protest.
The protesters marched from Parliament House to ECP office and demonstrated against the alleged poll rigging. Intense slogans have been raised against the commission. Strict security measures were also in place as heavy contingent of police and Frontier Corps (FC) officials were deployed around ECP.
The component parties of the PAFFE have directed all their winners, ticket-holders in election 2018 and senators to participate in today’s protest demonstration.
Talking to the protest rally outside of ECP office Jamiat Ulema-e Islam-F chief Fazlur Rehman termed that he would not accept ‘fake leadership and prime minister’.
Talking to the protest rally outside ECP office, Fazlur Rehman demanded the resignations from officials of Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) over rigging in recently happened election. He also said that the Pakistani establishment has lost his entity as unbiased representative.
The JUI-F chief shared his message with former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, saying that “You [Nawaz Sharif] are in jail but I will try to fulfill your deficiency in your absence.” He said that they would observe struggle day for independence instead of celebrating August 14 Independence Day.
“Today, Pakistan’s political leadership is on the same page. The reins of country are being handed over to an ineligible candidate”, Fazal said.
Startlingly, the heads of Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto did not join the protest rally. – Agencies
