All sections of society need to respect the vote: Nawaz Sharif

LAHORE: Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif said on Wednesday that there is a dire need to restore and establish the sanctity of vote in the country.

Speaking to the press after expressing his condolences to Mufti Raghib Naeemi on the demise of his grandmother, Nawaz said that he will take the issue of respect of the vote to every corner of the country, adding that the country can only progress if it starts respecting the mandate of people.

“The mandate of people of Pakistan must not be insulted,” he said, adding that, “Our narrative has made a place in the hearts of people of Pakistan”. 

Nawaz said that he is grateful to the Almighty for giving his party a remarkable victory in the recently held Lodhran by-election and he wishes to visit the city soon to thank the voters for their trust in the party.

He said that the politics of his opponents are of lies and hypocrisy.

Responding to a question, he said that those occupying seat of justice are the most accountable among all before the court of Almighty.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s Iqbal Shah Qureshi, in what was a major upset for the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) before the general elections, won the by-poll for the constituency of NA-154 Lodhran on Monday, according to unofficial results from all 338 polling stations.

Qureshi managed to attain 113,542 votes, while his competitor, PTI's Ali Tareen, contesting his first election on his father Jahangir Tareen’s seat, attained 85,933 votes.