Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf postpones intra-party elections

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) intra-party elections which were due to be held on February 5, have been postponed. PTI chairman Barrister Gohar Khan said that the decision was announced on the directives of former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, Pakistan-based Geo News reported.

Gohar Khan said, "Intra-party elections can divert the attention of candidates and voters from the general elections." PTI appears to remain in limbo, mainly after the party was not given its electoral symbol "bat" after months of a legal battle with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). Notably, Pakistan is gearing up to hold elections on February 8.

On Thursday, PTI's central media department released an official schedule in which the party mentioned the appointment of spokesperson Raoof Hasan as the federal election commissioner for the polls, according to Geo News report.

The statement released by PTI reads, "The PTI Federal Election Commission is pleased to announce the Election Schedule for the Intra-party Elections (IPE) of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf to elect the Chairman, Central and Provincial Organisations."

Previously, the intra-party polls held by PTI were surrounded by controversy after PTI founding member Akbar S Babar challenged the elections. Babar urged the ECP to order the PTI to hold fresh intra-party elections. The PTI members voted in favour of Barrister Gohar Khan as PTI chairman.

Notably, Imran Khan had nominated Gohar Khan for the PTI chairman's post. After the PTI's intra-party polls, Akbar Babar refused to accept the elections and approached the electoral watchdog against the irregularities, according to Geo News report. Khan said he and other founding members are part of the PTI after the high court's decision.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan police have intensified the crackdown on Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders and workers and have picked up over three dozen more party workers for being allegedly involved in violence during a rally at Teen Talwar over the weekend, Dawn reported.

They have been arrested on charges of rioting and attacking policemen, among other crimes."39 more persons have been apprehended on charges of rioting, attacking a policeman, and ransacking official vehicles," a police spokesperson said.

The number of activists apprehended during these three days stands at 72, the spokesperson said. According to Dawn, they were being identified with the help of digital evidence against them, the spokesperson added. Just one week ahead of the general elections, the law enforcement agency has been carrying out raids across the city to arrest PTI workers.

Apart from the dozens of PTI leaders and workers named in the arson and terrorism FIR registered on behalf of the state after the Teen Talwar rally and violence, the police have also booked around 5000 unnamed workers of the party and have continued to conduct raids across the city to arrest them, according to Dawn report. However, the Sindh High Court on Tuesday granted 95 of them protective jail, giving relief to some of the PTI workers.