LAHORE: Railways minister Khwaja Saad Rafique has said Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf candidate Hamid Khan had won at all the five polling stations in NA-125 where additional ballots have shown to be cast when vote audit was undertaken.

“Time has come to respond to Imran Khan in the same coin because he is becoming the Bal Thackeray of Pakistan,” said the minister at a news conference at the Lahore Press Club on Sunday.

Rejecting allegations of rigging in NA-125, Mr Rafique said PTI candidate Hamid Khan got 50 presiding officers changed a couple of days before the polling day.

Mr Rafique said Imran Khan’s voters were also affected due to his politics of agitation. “Imran Khan is the biggest liar in the politics of the country while his companions are nothing but forgers.”

The minister said he had been waiting for the decision by election tribunal and along with his lawyer Ushtar Ausaaf Ali had decided to follow the fingerprints and catch the persons who had cast multiple votes. Lawyer Ushtar Ausaaf said on the occasion that National Database and Registration Authority’s four-page report did not mention any fake votes.

“The PML-N government’s measures for the betterment of Pakistan in general and for resolution of energy crisis in particular are haunting Imran Khan who is also worried why petroleum and energy prices are coming down. It was Imran Khan’s sit-in that resulted in postponement of visits of Chinese president and Qatar Amir to Pakistan. Both these rulers were bringing investment worth billions of dollars to the country,” said Mr Rafique.

He said the media deliberately concealed the fact that it was the PTI that was beneficiary at all these polling stations where additional ballots were allegedly polled.

“Imran Khan must hold his tongue so that a favourable environment can be created for talks. People like Sheikh Rashid are enough for Imran Khan who change their leaders every four years,” he said and added that all PML-N leaders and workers had been directed to stay away from roads during the PTI’s Monday protest.

Published in Dawn, December 15th, 2014