PESHAWAR: Special Assistant to the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for Information and Broadcasting has challenged Advisor to the Prime Minister, Ikhtiar Wali, over his alleged allegation on Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Sohail Afridi.
Special Assistant to the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Information and Public Relations, Shafi Jan, has said that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) candidates actively participated in the by-elections held in Haripur NA-18 and Lahore NA-129 constituency, but unfortunately, PTI’s candidate in Haripur, Shehrnaz Omar Ayub, was defeated through “Form-47 manipulation.” He stated that according to the presiding officers’ duly signed Form-45 results, PTI candidate had won the election, but the returning officer appointed by the Election Commission altered the results overnight.
He expressed these views while addressing a press conference at the Provincial Assembly in Peshawar regarding the by-election results. Member Provincial Assembly Mailk Adeel Iqbal and PTI Peshawar District President Irfan Saleem were also present.
Shafi Jan said that just as the mandate was “altered” in the general elections on 8 February, similar rigging took place in the Haripur by-election. He alleged that the returning officer’s office was shifted overnight, trenches were dug around the office, and PTI leadership was forced out of the premises.
He also presented a signed Form-45 from various polling stations alongside the results issued by the returning officer to the media.
Criticising the Punjab government, he said that PTI’s candidate in Punjab was not even allowed to put up posters. PTI Lahore president was arrested, and cases were registered against workers. In contrast, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government provided a completely level playing field to all parties in Haripur, including the PML-N. Captain (R) Safdar was freely running campaigns from the first day.
He said that after the events of 9 May, extreme fascism was unleashed against PTI, even though the party had no role in those incidents. , he said Elections are a democratic process where citizens vote for representatives of their choice, and the decision must rest with the people.
Shafi Jan further stated that the provincial government fulfilled all its responsibilities effectively during the Haripur by-election. Criticising Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Safdar, he said that referendums take place under dictatorships, whereas elections are held in democracies. He claimed that in Punjab, the PML-N was competing against itself. Maryam Safdar herself had previously lost her seat to PTI’s candidate Mahir Sharafat. He challenged her to open her constituency for scrutiny, asserting that she is “illegally occupying the chief minister’s seat.”
He said that PTI’s decision to boycott the by-elections on other seats in Punjab was absolutely correct, as the voter turnout was only 5 to 10 per cent. He clarified that in the Haripur by-election, the role of all government employees, from the deputy commissioner down to the lowest-ranked staff—would be investigated.
During the press conference, Shafi Jan also strongly criticised the Prime Minister’s Coordinator, Ikhtiyar Wali, calling him “a defeated man and a fake coordinator of a fake prime minister,” who had levelled baseless allegations against the Chief Minister. He added that the Chief Minister would issue a notice to him, and if he did not apologise, he would have to face legal consequences.
He further said that according to the IMF report, the federal government was responsible for corruption amounting to Rs 5,300 billion, yet no one was willing to speak about it.
Read also: Shafi Jan slams federal government for blocking KP CM’s access to PTI founder
