PML-N paid ‘political bribes’ to ministers, is guilty of pre-poll rigging, says PTI

ISLAMABAD (Monitoring Desk): The PML-N government has paid “political bribes” to members of the National Assembly and the Punjab Assembly, leaders of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) have alleged after a party meeting on Monday.

During the meeting, chaired by Imran Khan, it was claimed that during its tenure, the federal and Punjab governments had distributed Rs200 billion among national and provincial ministers from discretionary funds.

Distributing such large volumes of funds among ministers ahead of the general elections amounts to pre-poll rigging, the PTI leadership concluded.

The party called upon the Election Commission of Pakistan and the Supreme Court to take notice of the distribution of funds from the state treasury. The time of distribution or the projects for which the funds were allegedly distributed were not specified by PTI leadership.

The PTI also repeated its demand for early elections to protect the country from its “worst economic, political and administrative crises in history”.

“The current government is incapable of making decisions,” a statement released by the PTI’s media cell read.

The party’s leaders also criticised Nawaz Sharif’s continuing influence over his party, saying that cabinet ministers take directions from the ousted premier instead of the current prime minister. The party leaders alleged that the division of power within the ruling party has given rise to mistrust and confusion in the country.

The party also condemned what it termed was a campaign led by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his “mafia” against the institutions of the state.

“Nawaz Sharif wants to hold the system hostage in order to hide his theft and corruption,” the statement read.