Nepotism seen in selection for PTI women reserved seats

PESHAWAR: Though belatedly, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has reportedly expressed dissatisfaction over the lists of the reserved seats for the party women, The News has learnt.

But what the PTI chief perhaps forgot was that these were the very same National Assembly and provincial assembly lists which were provided to the Election Commission of Pakistan over a week ago which bore his signature, said a party member.

Several PTI members, while requesting anonymity, told The News there was no mechanism for the selection of candidates.

“The manner in which a party formed in the name of justice announced its names for the reserved seats was disappointing,” said a PTI member.

He said all the attention was on the distribution of general tickets and selection of reserved seats for women was subjected to favouritism and nepotism.

Details are surfacing of the unfair manner in which the tickets were doled out to family members and personal friends without following merit, he alleged.

An angry party worker said although members were asked to submit forms, evidently nobody did a proper scrutiny of the forms.

“No interviews were conducted at all. Names were added of those who had not even sent their nominations. There was no selection criteria,” said the party member.

More intriguingly, while the last date set by the ECP was June 11 for submission of the final lists by the party, a former KP minister from Peshawar submitted those on June 9. He revealed the list after the deadline expired.

Much hue and cry is being raised now but legal experts reckon that once the ECP has accepted the list, it cannot be amended or returned.

Parliamentary Board comprised of former chief minister Pervez Khattak, Shah Farman, Atif Khan, Shahram Tarakai and Asad Qaiser.

There was no women representation in the committee. Moreover, the PTI workers believed, the KP women’s wing office-bearers and Peshawar region office-bearers were bypassed completely.

A number of women protested outside Banigala against what they termed unfair distribution of tickets by Parliamentary Board KP.

In the past, prominent workers like Fauzia Kasuri who had been denied tickets in PTI have left the party.