PTI stages protest outside ECP office in Peshawar

PESHAWAR
On the call of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founding chairman and former Prime Minister Imran Khan, a large protest demonstration was held outside the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) office in Peshawar on Friday.
The protest drew a significant number of PTI workers, including provincial assembly members, who chanted slogans in support of Imran Khan and demanded his immediate release along with other detained party members.
Addressing the protestors, PTI Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Provincial President Junaid Akbar, Special Assistant to the Population Welfare Department Malik Liaquat Ali Khan, Member of National Assembly Atif Khan, and other party leaders criticized the role of state institutions, particularly the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), accusing it of bias and collusion.
Junaid Akbar said that PTI’s political space was being squeezed and its peaceful workers were being labeled as terrorists. “We’ve come here today to expose those who remain unmoved. This is no longer the Election Commission, it has become the Corruption Commission,” he said.
The speakers accused the ECP of targeting PTI in the foreign funding case while ignoring the financial records of other political parties. They alleged that the general elections were rigged, and the clear mandate of PTI was deliberately manipulated in collusion with returning officers and other institutions.
“Even the worst dictators would be ashamed of the way results were changed in this election,” one of the speakers remarked. They also demanded legal action against returning officers allegedly involved in electoral malpractice. The PTI leaders reiterated that Imran Khan’s incarceration was unjust, and that his struggle represents democracy, constitutional supremacy, and the rule of law. They vowed to continue peaceful protests nationwide until the party’s mandate is restored.
Highlighting the shortcomings in the electoral process, speakers called for the introduction of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), stating that such rigging could have been prevented and resolved within an hour had EVMs been used.
They further claimed that the international media has taken notice of election rigging in Pakistan and urged national institutions to return what they called PTI’s “stolen mandate.”
“The nation will never accept corrupt individuals as President or Prime Minister imposed against the people’s will,” they added.