Saad Rafique ‘convinced’ to win against Imran on July 25

LAHORE: Former minister for railways Khawaja Saad Rafique has made a sweeping statement to ‘clean sweep’ Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chief Imran Khan in Lahore on July 25 –the election day.

Addressing a press conference here, Rafique said he was sensing a major breakthrough in the polls on July 25.

He also demanded the Election Commission of Pakistan to take notice of PTI’s election expenses and investigate them.

He claimed that Khan was holding flop election rallies across the country, adding that the PTI chief would not turn up as triumphant in the elections.

In continuation of the statement, the PML-N leader said PTI leadership should bar their workers from disturbing peace and electoral atmosphere in the country.

He said that the people of Pakistan were ready to cast their votes on ideological basis. No one can break vote bank of PML-N by using abusive language, he continued.

Saad Rafique is vying against PTI Chief Imran Khan in NA-131 in Lahore. And a tough contest is expected between the two bigwigs.

On July 12, the Supreme Court had annulled the 2015 verdict of election tribunal which ordered re-election in Lahore’s NA-125 – the seat won by Saad Rafique.

A two-member bench of apex court led by Sheikh Azmat Saeed while accepting the petition of Saad Rafique ruled that irregularities did not occur in the constituency during general elections 2013.

Rafique had challenged the verdict of election tribunal’s judge Javed Rasheed who had annulled results of the NA-125 election and ordered a re-poll on the seat won by him.