Imran Khan’s party to launch protest movement against Feb 8 'poll rigging' from Saturday

Omar Ayub Khan, leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, said the Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, would also protest for the 'restoration of the Constitution and democracy' in Pakistan.

Islamabad: Jailed former premier of Pakistan Imran Khan’s beleaguered Tehreek-e-Insaf party would launch a protest movement against alleged rigging in the February 8 general elections from Saturday, a senior party leader said on Friday.

Omar Ayub Khan, leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, said the Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, under the umbrella of a "grand opposition alliance", would also protest for the "restoration of the Constitution and democracy" in the country, Geo News reported.

Ayub Khan, who incidentally was also the joint candidate who lost to Imran Khan’s rival Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party’s Shehbaz Sharif in the prime ministerial election last month, said the protest movement would be initiated from Balochistan and later be expanded countrywide.

Earlier this month, the PTI had announced launching a countrywide movement against alleged rigging in general elections after Eid-ul-Fitr from Balochistan, the report said.

PTI leader Asad Qaiser, while addressing the media in Rawalpindi after meeting 71-year-old Khan in Adiala Jail said the first rally would be held in Balochistan’s Pishin district.

The Imran Khan-founded party has alleged that the incumbent rulers "stole their mandate in the elections and the results were changed in Form 47s to benefit the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)".

Form 45 is collected from polling stations in a constituency while Form 47 shows the consolidated result of a constituency.

Last week, citing religious reasons, the PTI announced cancelling a rally that was scheduled to be held in Islamabad to demand the release of the party founder, who has been incarcerated since August last year after his conviction in various cases.

After the general elections, the PTI claimed that at least 85 seats won by it in Parliament were snatched by rigging and said the outcome of Pakistan's elections would be remembered due to the "biggest voter fraud" in the country’s history against it and its successful candidates.

In February, PTI-backed independent candidates, who won the February 8 elections, joined the Sunni Ittehad Council.

The Sunni Ittehad Council is an alliance of Islamic political and religious parties in the Muslim-majority country which represents followers of the school of Sunni Islam.