PTI gives 48-hours ultimatum to govt for arrest of killers of its UC candidate

Lahore: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Punjab Organizer Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar led a protest demonstration on Wednesday outside Lahore Press Club against killing of a PTI candidate for upcoming local bodies’ elections. He warned of shutting down Lahore if the killers were not arrested within 48 hours while party chief Imran Khan would lead the protests.

PTI is competing against PML-N as well as against Punjab police in by-polls and LG elections, Chaudhry Sarwar said while lamenting the use of state apparatus against political workers. Police is openly favouring PML-N and harassing PTI workers and its candidates, he told the media while adding that PTI won’t accept the election results unless the rangers were deployed in and out of polling stations on polling day. If police did not change the way it was treating PTI, we would be forced to go and sit in front of offices of police high command, warned Chaudhry Sarwar. The party workers were carrying placards and banners with slogans against Punjab government and police inscribed on them.

PTI Punjab Deputy Organizer Omar Sarfraz Cheema, PTI Candidate from NA-122 Abdul Aleem Khan, Shoaib Ahmad Siddiqui were also present.

Speaking to the protest rally, Chaudhary Sarwar said the slain candidate Ghaffar Gujjar had joined PTI after quitting PML-N and therefore was targeted by later to teach him lesson. The ruling party murdered him with help from Punjab police, he stated. Nowhere in any democracy of the world, anybody harasses political opponents in a way PML-N was doing in Punjab especially in Lahore where winds of change were blowing, he further said. The murder of our candidate in broad day light is target killing and its perpetrators are well known, he told while adding that the target killers in Lahore must also be brought to justice as was done in Karachi.

He expressed complete solidarity with the grieved family of slain Ghaffar Gujjar and ensured them to go to any extent to bring killers to justice. PTI would raise the issue at every forum including a strike across Lahore, he declared. PTI is the most popular party across country and would not bow down to the terrorizing tactics of rulers in Punjab, Chaudhary Sarwar categorically stated and added that ‘Gullu-ism’ of Punjab government should come to an end.

Abdul Aleem Khan, while speaking on this occasion, said that DSP Riaz Shah of Punjab Police was involved in the murder of Ghaffar Gujjar and got him killed by police in his supervision. He said the police found gambling den at the residence of his opponent Mohsin Latif in Lahore but no action was taken against him. We are not contesting against politicians but fighting against a group of thugs, thief and gamblers. He also repeated the warning to block whole of Lahore if the perpetrators of Ghaffar murder were not nabbed within stipulated time. Imran Khan is coming to Lahore to join his workers in protest against the tyrants, he announced.