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Imran dissolves PTI elected bodies,announces interim set-up

Says no harm if Judicial Commission takes more time for rigging probe

By our correspondents
May 24, 2015
ISLAMABAD: Finally giving in to the order of the Justice (retd) Wajihuddin Ahmad, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Saturday announced dissolution of the elected bodies and office bearers and formed an interim set-up to run the party affairs.
Imran was apprising the media persons of the decisions after he chaired a lengthy party meeting here. “In line with the authority of Justice Wajihuddin, we are dissolving all the party offices and bringing in an interim administrative set-up,” he said.
Former Punjab governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar will head the PTI Punjab as organiser and Azizullah will be his deputy, Dr Arif Alvi will head Sindh and Iftikhar Soomro will be his deputy, Yousaf Ayub will head Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Fazal Muhammad Khan will be his deputy and Humayun Jogezai will lead the party in Balochistan and Qasim Suri will be his deputy organiser.
The PTI’s former finance secretary, Azhar Tariq, will be the organiser for Islamabad. As per the order, the interim office-bearers will not qualify for the next party elections. Imran will announce next week the members of a committee being constituted at the centre, whereas before the next intra-party polls, interim office-bearers will also be nominated by him after consultations.
Replying to questions, the PTI chairman claimed that 2015 would be the year of general elections and these could be conducted before his party’s intra-party polls.
He was hopeful the judicial commission would complete its findings about rigging in the 2013 general elections. Imran emphasised that accountability of those behind rigging was key to lay the foundation of a strong democracy in Pakistan.
Imran said the PTI was fully participating in the proceedings of the judicial commission and felt nothing wrong if it needed more time to complete its job. “The game has just started and maqny other things will come to fore,” he said. Imran said they had full faith in the commission and its decision would pave the way for general elections this year.
He said after the publication of a report in a foreign newspaper about a media group, all of a sudden a series of actions had been kicked of whereas, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government remained unmoved with regards to a BBC documentary about alleged money-laundering by Nawaz Sharif and reports about Asif Ali Zardari also went unnoticed.
The PTI chairman yet again alleged that both Nawaz Sharif and Asif Zardari were united to safeguard their interests.
About the poor performance of the national cricket team and deteriorating standard of the game, he said what could be expected from a chairman who was appointed on political basis.
The PTI chairman said it was very unfortunate that there had been no international cricket in Pakistan for so many years and recalled that Pakistan had been the international cricket powerhouse.
Imran welcomed the visit of the Zimbabwe cricket team and described it as a good omen for the resumption of international cricket in Pakistan. The PTI vowed that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) would be revamped this year and related matters would be duly addressed.