Omar Ayub Khan, the prime minister nominee of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), severely criticized the coalition government on Sunday during a National Assembly session. He called it a “fascist” administration that was only interested in plundering Pakistan’s riches without regard for morality.
Speaking before the legislature, Khan expressed his displeasure with what he considered to be unfair voting procedures, saying, “The election of the speaker, deputy speaker, and prime minister has become illegal because we did not get the seats that we should have gotten.”
Calling the members of the coalition government in the house “beneficiaries” of Form-47, Khan said that PTI would have received 180 seats in the National Assembly if the results had been announced in accordance with Form-45.
“When PM-elect Shehbaz Sharif was speaking, the camera was on him, adding that his speech should also be covered live,” Khan said, expressing displeasure with the way the media had covered the event.
The people of the PML-N and other parties seated here seem defeated; their expressions suggest that they have been granted stolen mandates, I wish to inform the people of Pakistan. A thief’s expression shows panic as he runs away after robbing someone,” Khan continued.
The PTI chairman emphasised the party’s recent demonstrations against purported electoral irregularities, adding that 80 PTI members in Lahore alone were the target of lawsuits. In view of these acts, he challenged the coalition’s claims to democracy.
“You have snatched our electoral symbol from us, you have snatched the result of Form 45, but we stood, we are standing, and we will stand until Imran Khan takes the oath of prime minister,” said Khan.
Khan, who demanded responsibility for the violence on May 9, also urged the release of video recordings to reveal the truth and a judicial investigation into the happenings.
Tension was evident during the session as PML-N leaders, including as Atta Tarar, Osama Sarwar, and Anjum Aqeel, gathered around Khan and chanted “watch thief” slogans. However, PML-N MNAs stopped shouting the slogans and went back to their seats upon Asad Qaiser’s request.
