PTI workers are staging protests outside various district offices of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) across Pakistan. At the call of Chairman Imran Khan, the demonstration is taking place against the delay in the decision of the reference filed against the dissident members of the party and the biased attitude shown by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikander Sultan Raja.
According to PTI, CEC’s Raja had gone to “extremes of impartiality and dishonesty”. In this regard, PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry also claimed that “under a plan” the ECP was not issuing the notification to unseat the dissident MNAs of the party.
Earlier, PTI had filed references against the rebel MNAs, seeking their de-seating from the National Assembly. To clarify, around 20 MNAs had joined the then Opposition ahead of the no-confidence motion against Imran Khan. Therefore, PTI took strict action against them and demanded their disqualification.
Read more: PTI to disqualify rebellious MNAs
Later, PTI members too resigned from the National Assembly. On the other hand, the ECP said it had not yet received any notification of resignation by any MNAs.
CEC has lost all credibility bec of bias against PTI expressed ad nauseam! Now ECP says haven't received our resignations which former Dy Speaker verified/accepted! Lost in transition just as our bill on Enforced Disapp got Invisibly lost from NA to Senate!#ECP_Disqualify_Lotas
— Shireen Mazari (@ShireenMazari1) April 26, 2022
Moreover, the protest comes as the Islamabad High Court (IHC) ordered the ECP to decide on PTI’s foreign funding case within 30 days. As a result, it seems as if PTI is under immense pressure. Imran Khan even asked the CEC to resign as the party did not “trust” him. According to PTI, ECP did not fulfill its due responsibility and is only charged against PTI.
چیف الیکشن کمیشنر اپنے عہدے سے انصاف کرنے کے بجائے جانبداری کا مظاہرہ کرتے آئے ہیں آج پورے پاکستان میں جاری احتجاج میں عوام انکے استعفیٰ اور منحرف اراکین کو ڈی سیٹ کرنے کا مطالبہ کر رہی ہے۔ @FarrukhHabibISF #MarchAgainstImportedGovt #ECP_Disqualify_Lotas pic.twitter.com/wiBXnFL6xk
— PTI (@PTIofficial) April 26, 2022
Strict security measures
To ensure security in the federal capital and avoid any untoward incident, authorities imposed Section 144 in Islamabad’s Red Zone. According to sources, 750 security personnel are on duty and rangers are in charge of the security. Moreover, the authorities also alerted water canon staffers.
The protests were also held outside ECP offices in Karachi, Lahore, Quetta, Peshawar, Multan, Hyderabad, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, and other cities of the country.
The protesters chanted slogans against ECP CEC and demanded the election body to initiate the process of de-seating disgruntled PTI lawmakers.
Read more: IHC tells ECP to decide PTI’s foreign funding case in 30 days