Five jailed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leaders demand free and fair polls

Islamabad [Pakistan], July 13 : Five senior leaders of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), who are currently imprisoned in Kot Lakhpat Jail, have called for fresh, free and fair general elections in the country, Dawn reported.

In an open letter released on Saturday, PTI vice chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Senator Ejaz Chaudhry, former governor Omar Sarfraz Cheema, Yasmin Rashid, and Mian Mahmoodur Rasheed stated that two provinces of Pakistan - Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan - were facing the worst kind of terrorism, turmoil, and instability.

The PTI leaders emphasised the geological significance of the two provinces, highlighting their natural and mineral reserves, which they said the world was keenly eyeing. They said, "Those rare earth materials had become significantly important for the outside world."

The PTI leaders said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had been a peaceful province under the PTI-led government due to former Pakistan PM Imran Khan's balanced policy. However, they noted that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa remained a hub of terrorism before and after Imran Khan's government, which they stressed destroyed the economy and society of Pakistan.

In the letter, the leaders mentioned that ties between Pakistan and Afghanistan have remained strained for the past three years, while Russia had accepted the Taliban-led government of Pakistan, Dawn reported.

In the letter, senior PTI leaders stated, "The Afghan nation that continued calling Pakistan its second home, is not only annoyed but also opposing Pakistan.

The PTI leaders stressed that the federal government's non-cooperation with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government led by Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur was a failed policy and questioned how not holding talks was a wise approach.

The PTI leaders noted that Balochistan had become a hub of anti-state elements, and the law and order situation there was precarious, as dozens of terrorism incidents had been reported during the past two weeks.

They expressed regret that the federal and Balochistan governments were not aware of the gravity and seriousness of the situation.

The PTI leaders stated, "Both the governments, making tall claims, using state power and arresting Baloch leaders, were actually further deteriorating law and order instead of curbing terrorism in the province," Dawn reported.

They also accused the Balochistan government of being a fake mandated Form-47 government and of contributing to the exacerbation of problems instead of resolving issues.

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