LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Vice President Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on Sunday Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan will be the party candidate in by-election to all 33 NA seats as announced by the ECP.
Speaking to media in Lahore, Mr Qureshi said that PTI Chairman Khan presided over the meeting of the core committee and parliamentary committee wherein political and economic situation of the country was discussed besides four resolutions were passed.
چئیرمین تحریک انصاف عمران خان کی زیرصدارت کور کمیٹی اور سینئیر پارٹی ممبرز کا اجلاس
عمران خان الیکشن کمیشن کی جانب سے اعلان کردہ قومی اسمبلی کے 33 حلقوں سے انتخابات لڑیں گے#خوف_کے_آگے_جیت_ہے @ImranKhanPTI @Asad_Umar @Shafqat_Mahmood @irt_pti @SMQureshiPTI @PTIofficial pic.twitter.com/KJtP16P8o0
— Faisal Hameed (@fhameed786) January 29, 2023
The PTI leader said: “There was a long discussion and debate, and the party decided that it would participate in the by-polls being held to the 33 seats.”
He further said that Imran would be the party’s sole candidate on all 33 NA seats and lawmakers earlier elected on those seats would submit paperwork as “covering candidates”. “So we have decided to take part in the polls,” he said.
“We vehemently condemn Fawad Chaudhry’s imprisonment”, Mr Qureshi stated in reference to the arrest of PTI stalwart Fawad Chaudhry.
During today’s media talk, Qureshi also spoke about the delay in elections for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab assemblies, saying the PTI’s core committee had passed a resolution in this regard.
“A delay in the commencement of elections under the guise of any reason would be equivalent to an attack on the Constitution, which will be liable to legal action under Article 6 (high treason) of the Constitution,” he said as he read the resolution out loud.
At the same time, the PTI also called on President Arif Alvi to take “immediate notice of the intelligence agencies’ and other powerful forces’ increasing interference in national political matters”.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Friday issued the schedule for by-polls to 33 NA seats to be held on March 16. The seats had fallen vacant after NA Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf accepted 35 more resignations of PTI lawmakers on Jan 17.
According to the schedule, the returning officers (ROs) will issue a public notice in this regard on Feb 3 while candidates will be able to file their nomination papers with the ROs from Feb 6 to 8, followed by the issuance of a list of the nominated candidates the next day.
Scrutiny of documents will be carried out till Feb 13, followed by the publication of a revised list of candidates on Feb 21. However, contesting candidates will be able to withdraw their candidature by the next day and the final list of candidates will be issued the same day.
The candidates will be allotted election symbols on February 23 and polling will be conducted on March 16.
Meanwhile, PTI Secretary General Asad Umar read out another resolution passed by the party’s core committee, saying, “The PTI leadership wishes to direct the attention of the president and the supreme commander of the armed forces towards the statement by the KP governor that the KP elections’ date will be given by the agencies and the establishment.”
He added, “PTI demands the president to take immediate notice of the intelligence agencies’ and other powerful forces’ increasing interference in national political matters.”
He further asked the president to take notice of the “false cases against the PTI workers and leaders, their kidnappings, judicial torture on them, and threatening phone calls made to them on the directions of a few black sheep in the state institutions”.
Asserting that these actions were negatively impacting the reputations of the country’s institutions, Umar asked the president to enquire about the “black sheep that the PTI and free media have been pointing out”.
Fawad Chaudhry’s arrest
The PTI also passed a resolution condemning the arrest of party leader Fawad Chaudhry.
“The PTI leadership strongly condemns Fawad Chaudhry’s kidnapping and the false case registered against him, and expresses serious concern over his physical remand being granted and the terrorist-like conduct adopted with him,” Qureshi said.
He claimed the treatment being meted out to Fawad was strictly against Article 14 of the Constitution (inviolability of dignity of man, etc) and “equivalent to a massacre of justice”.
Chaudhry’s wife Hiba Fawad — who was also present — requested Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial to take a suo moto notice of the fact that her daughters were not being allowed to meet their father.
She also thanked Imran for inviting her to today’s meeting and listening to her concerns.
Meanwhile, PTI senior leader Asad Umar announced that a petition for the elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will be filed tomorrow. Mr. Umar lamented, “The nation’s security was threatened and there were worries that the country may become bankrupt”.
