Lambasting the eight-party ruling coalition in the National Assembly, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader and Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) lawmaker Omar Ayub Khan dubbed newly elected Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif a “product” of Form 47 — a document which provides insight into unconfirmed results of a constituency, including the number of votes cast and cancelled.
Omar Ayub Khan has said that Shehbaz Sharif has been elected prime minister via a 'stolen' mandate.
Speaking in the lower house of parliament after losing the election for the slot of PM, Ayub termed the Shehbaz-led government a continuation of the former Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) led regime.
Recalling the “discriminations” with the former ruling party, the SIC leader said that they demanded reserved seats during the elections for speaker and deputy speaker’s slots but then-NA speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf refused to stop the voting.
“Our objection on Shehbaz Sharif’s nomination papers was dismissed,” he added.
The PTI was stripped of its iconic election symbol — the cricket bat — but the party leadership did not bow down, he said, adding that the former ruling party was denied a level playing field and barred from electioneering.
Terming the former PDM-led government “fascist”, Ayub asked who was the murderer of journalist Arshad Sharif and PTI worker Zille Shah.
He accused the ruling alliance of getting their candidates’ nomination papers rejected ahead of the general elections.
The PTI leader demanded an independent inquiry into the May 9 mayhem.
The May 9 riots were triggered almost across the country after the deposed prime minister's arrest in the £190 million settlement case. Hundreds of PTI workers and senior leaders were put behind bars for their involvement in violence and attacks on military installations.
During the protests, the miscreants targeted the civil and military installations including — Jinnah House and the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi. The military termed May 9 "Black Day" and decided to try the protesters under the Army Act.
Addressing the House, PTI's Ayub sought the speaker’s ruling for a live telecast of his speech like that of the premier.
Moving on to dual standard, he said: “There are two laws in the country. Nawaz Sharif was provided a biometric facility at the airport [in violation of the laws].”
They knew that their mandate was fake, he said, adding, “You will see fear on their faces.”
He added: “Our number would have been 180 if the MNAs, elected as per Form 45s, had come.”
During his address, lawmakers from the ruling alliance tried to disrupt him and protested multiple times.
Speaking on the floor of the House, the PTI leader demanded an impartial inquiry into the killing of dozens of his party’s supporters on May 9.
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More than 10,000 workers and supporters of PTI were currently behind bars, Ayub said and demanded their release. He also demanded to free his party’s leadership, including the former prime minister and his wife Bushra Bibi.
