Kohat: Former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan said that the Supreme Court verdict of declaring the votes of dissenting lawmakers as invalid has saved the morale of this nation from falling.

Addressing a public gathering in Kohat, the ousted prime minister requested the apex court to take up the Sharif family’s corruption cases, saying that the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and other institutions had been compromised under the current setup.

Earlier in the day, the SC ruled that the votes of dissident members of the Parliament (MPs), cast against their parliamentary party’s directives, cannot be counted.

During his today’s address, Imran said that Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz would no longer be able to hold the office following the court’s verdict as the PML-N formed the provincial government with the help of dissident PTI MPAs.

The PTI chairman went on to say that Shehbaz Sharif had a great desire to become the prime minister as he had never come into power before unlike Nawaz Sharif.

“PML-N is facing criticism on all issues including inflation and devaluation of the rupee,” he added.

Khan said that no one was enjoying the predicament of the Shehbaz Sharif-led Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government more than PPP Co-chair Asif Ali Zardari who is a key stakeholder in the coalition government.

“People used to say that Shehbaz Sharif gets up at 7 in the morning and does great work,” he said and added where is he [PM] now when the inflation is surging.

He said the incumbent government had deliberately “destroyed” institutions such as the Federal Investigation Agency in order to render them ineffective in probing corruption cases.

Imran also appealed to the Supreme Court to order an inquiry into the recent death of FIA officer Dr Mohammad Rizwan, who died of an alleged cardiac arrest.

Earlier strong winds and rain lashed the Kohat Sports Complex, the venue of PTI’s public gathering. It left panaflexes torn and the seating arrangement for over 20,000 people in disarray.

At least one person was hurt as one of the temporary structures collapsed due to the strong winds. Videos from the venue show an injured man being taken to safety.