As Punjab is going into most crucial by-polls today (Sunday), the political temperature has reached its peak as both the arch rivals – the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) – are accusing each other of buying the loyalties of voters. A PTI worker from PP-168, Khalid Hussain Sindhu, was taken into custody by the police for having hundreds of ID cards of voters from the constituency. Later, a WhatsApp chat between Sindhu and PTI central leader Farrukh Habib also went viral on the social media. It was seen in the chat that Sindhu sent the photographs of those ID cards to Habib and said that they all would vote for the PTI. The police confiscated 200 ID cards from Sindhu, while he had informed Farrukh Habib through WhatsApp that he has bought 7,000 votes in PP-168.
Later, the accused told the police that he bought the ID cards by paying Rs2,000 to Rs3,000 to each voter in the constituency. The accused was also found talking to another PTI leader, Hafiz Farhat Abbas. It was also seen in the chat that Farrukh Habib also called on Sindhu at his house in Lahore last month. The social media was stormed with the alleged video of Khalid Sindhu’s chat with Farrukh Habib, as the PML-N severely criticised the PTI for buying votes in PP-168. PML-N’s Malik Asad Khokhar and PTI’s Nawaz Awan are contesting from PP-168, which is being considered the weakest constituency of the PTI in Lahore by-polls, as Malik Asad Khokhar enjoys a good vote bank in the area. The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has taken notice of the alleged conversation between the detained person and Farrukh Habib and has sought a report from the district monitoring officer. Later, both Farrukh Habib and Hafiz Farhat Abbas distanced themselves from the conversation with the accused. In his message on the social media, Farrukh Habib said that it was a drama orchestrated by the PML-N and he “doesn’t have any connection” with the accused. “I cannot be seen giving any type of direction to Khalid Sindhu in the chat and it is all drama,” he said. Hafiz Farhat Abbas said that he first met the man during 2018 by-polls and never met him again.
Meanwhile, PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz said that rigging was in the DNA of the PTI. “They couldn’t win without rigging in the past and cannot win again. It is election; not a selection,” Maryam tweeted. PTI Central Punjab President Dr Yasmin Rashid said that PML-N candidates were buying votes openly but the ECP wasn’t taking any action against them. She said that police tortured PTI worker Khalid Sindhu in PP-168 and pressurised him to buy his loyalty. Fake cases are being registered against our workers and Rana Sanaullah is notorious for it, she added. PTI Information Secretary Andleeb Abbas said that PML-N’s Nazir Chohan was buying votes openly in PP-167 but the ECP wasn’t taking any action. A video went viral on the social media in which PML-N candidate in PP-167 Nazir Chohan was seen giving Rs10,000 to a man in his constituency. Later, the man in the video submitted a written application to the district returning officer. According to the application submitted by Zahid Jameel, he runs a business of printing of banners and flexes in Green Town (PP-167). The applicant further said that he was receiving his bill from Nazir Chohan and his video went viral that defamed his repute and therefore action must be taken in this regard.
Earlier in the day, harsh words were exchanged between PTI’s minister from AJK Maqbool Gujjar and the police. The Lahore police intercepted Maqbool Gujjar and asked him to leave Punjab immediately. He was stopped by Johar Town police where SHO Atif Zulfiqar made him sign some official papers. The police wanted to take him to the police station but he boarded another car and “ran away”. According to police, Gujjar was being traced. The Home Department of Punjab had barred PTI’s MNA Ali Amin Gandapur and Maqbool Gujjar from entering the province due to the law and order situation. According to Home Minister Atta Tarar, both the PTI office-bearers were planning to bring armed men from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and AJK, so their entry was banned. Meanwhile, Deputy Opposition Leader in Punjab Assembly Raja Basharat submitted an adjournment motion against the decision of the Home Department to ban the entry of both the leaders in Punjab. “This decision will create hatred among small federating units of the country,” said the adjournment motion.
