PTI faces uphill task in Karachi, admits Imran

Party workers confront IK over misguided polices, mismanagement during LG polls

Karachi

Criticism and cries of protests from workers of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) awaited Chairman Imran Khan when he arrived at the Insaf House on Saturday, leading him to candidly remark that weaknesses in the organisational structure had led to the party’s defeat in the recent local government elections.  

“Though the team in Karachi worked hard, we suffered great losses due to organisational weaknesses,” he said, while addressing PTI candidates who had managed to secure seats in the local bodies election held on December 5. “But I expect that the PTI leaders and workers in Karachi have learnt from the mistakes they made in the local government election and will not repeat them next time. We face an uphill task in Karachi.”

The News learnt that disgruntled workers gathered at Insaf House to meet PTI chairman and expressed their angst and protested against the president of PTI’s Karachi chapter, Ali Zaidi, who according to them, had damaged the party’s credibility.

“The workers are dismayed at the party’s losses in the local government election due to the flawed policies of PTI leadership,” a senior leader of the PTI party told The News. “The workers are also angry that newcomers have damaged the party’s credibility, especially with the move to ally with Jamaat-e-Islami for the local bodies election.”

The leader said these “newcomer’s had appointed organisers in every district of Karachi and ignored the workers who had been with the PTI for the past 15 years. “They believe it is due to the bad management of inexperienced workers which caused the PTI massive losses in the local government election,” he said. “However, most of the anger is directed towards PTI chief in Karachi, Ali Zaidi, who has spoiled the democratic structure of the party. I believe it is time to accept the negligent ways of party’s office bearers by compelling the central leadership to accept Zaidi’s resignation and reorganise.”

Khan, flanked by MNA Dr Arif Alvi and Ali Zaidi, assured party workers on the occasion that in future no appointments would be made by only his veto power and will take the opinions of other leaders and workers into consideration while also promising that the next intra-party election will be transparent.

He promised disciplinary action against party office bearers who had violated party discipline by contesting against official party candidates in the local government election in Karachi “We will give them show-cause notices and expel them from the party,” he promised.

When the workers chanted slogans against Karachi president Ali Zaidi and the VIP culture inside the party , Khan responded that they could voice their protest since the PTI was a democratic party that respected difference of opinion.

Ali Zaidi had tendered his resignation to the PTI’s central leadership due to “not meeting the expectations of party workers and supporters in the local government election”. He had said the party stood divided, which ultimately resulted in defeat.

Khan has arrived in Karachi to attend the wedding of PTI MPA Samar Ali Khan’s child. Upon his arrival in the city he drove immediately to Insaf House where he was met by dismayed workers and supporters and addressed the successful candidates of local bodies election.  

He later presided over a core meeting where the workers’ concerns and differences of opinion came under discussion.

“The PTI is open to its workers’ feelings for achieving better results for the future,” he remarked. “But the party ranks are in dire need of unity. Democracy begins at home and we will do it by holding transparent intra-party elections scheduled to be held in the next few months.”

Commenting on the recent by-election in Lodhran where PTI candidate Jahangir Khan Tareen managed to win the seat, Khan said the team had rectified its shortcomings after learning from the experience of 2013 general election and this was why it managed to beat the rival candidate of the ruling party by nearly 40,000 votes. “This shows that those who learn from their mistakes succeed,” he said. “This also proves that the 2013 was fishy.”