Pakistan Tehreek-E-Insaf To Sit In Opposition In Centre, Punjab

Islamabad [Pakistan]: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Friday announced that it will sit in opposition in the Centre and Punjab as the political parties make efforts to finalise the process of government formation in Pakistan and provinces after the general elections held on February 8, Pakistan-based The News International reported.

The decision has been taken as per the directives issued by PTI founder Imran Khan, who remains incarcerated in Rawalpindi's Adiala Jail.

Speaking to reporters after a meeting with the Qaumi Watan Party (QWP), PTI leader Muhammad Ali Saif said that the party had decided to sit on the opposition benches in the National Assembly and Punjab Assembly.

"Many politicians face the allegations that they have power lust but we have decided to sit in the opposition in the Centre and Punjab, despite the fact that if we had got the seats according to the votes we received, we would have been forming the government in the Centre," he said, according to The News International report.

Saif further said that the Form-45s were evidence that the PTI-backed candidates had secured win. However, the results were changed in the Form-47s. He said that the party was getting in touch with the political parties as per the orders given by Imran Khan and added that a delegation led by Asad Qaiser visited the QWP secretariat.

Calling the elections held on February 8 "rigged," Saif said that the polls have created political unrest in Pakistan. He said that the political parties and those "who had the right" and who had received the votes of the people have made complaints about the polls. He said, "People's votes were tampered with."

Saif said that some people would celebrate that they have got to form the government. However, he added that this celebration would be short-lived, according to The News International report.

"If we see this in the long term, this is a huge problem for the nation, the country and the parliamentary democracy in Pakistan because the coming generations have to bear the brunt of such incidents," Saif said while referring to the alleged rigging in elections.

He said that PTI wants "harmony and an environment of reconciliation" in Pakistan. Revealing details regarding the meeting with QWP, Saif said that the PTI requested the party leaders to join it on the agenda to protest the alleged poll rigging.

At this, QWP leader Sikandar Sherpao told PTI that they would announce their course of action after sharing PTI's proposal with the party's committee. Polls in Pakistan were held on February 8 amid allegations of rigging in election results, The News International reported.

While the PTI-backed independent candidates secured more seats, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has claimed to have enough numbers to form the government as some independents joined the PML-N post-polls. The PTI has alleged that the elections were "not free and fair" and plans to stage countrywide peaceful protests against the alleged rigging.

Earlier, the PTI-backed independent candidates held a joint press conference and said that the elections held on February 8 had created new records of rigging. They disapproved of the poll results, saying that the 2024 elections would be remembered in Pakistan's history due to the scale of rigging.