PTI withdraws ex-minister Sikandar Bosan’s ticket after protest

ISLAMABAD: Following extreme pressure from party workers on the ‘unfair award of ticket’, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) withdrew former federal minister Sikandar Hayat Bosan’s ticket for Multan NA-154 constituency, on Sunday.

PTI has released the revised and final list of candidates of national and provincial assemblies for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, awarding tickets to some of the old guards, including Ali Mohammad Khan and Dost Mohammad Khan Mahsud, former civil servant and an old friend of PTI head Imran Khan, for contesting the general elections.

The ticket for NA-154 would be decided later, the statement added.

Just the other day a video surfaced online showcasing Mr Bosan going through a tough situation as he was stopped by a group of youngsters, during his election campaign at Binda Sandila union council, who criticised his performance pertaining to the failure of construction of a link road in the area and his absence from the constituency.

““...the road is in bad condition. Come out of your vehicle and inspect the road with us,” said one of the youngsters.

The party's old activists were not satisfied with the PTI leadership for awarding party tickets to some of the newcomers and openly criticised the decision of their leadership. Some senior PTI people in KP were divided over allotment of party tickets.

Previously, some old PTI workers and close aides to Imran Khan were denied party tickets that created unrest among workers and some of them chose to quit the party and others put pressure on their leadership to revise their decision.

A sit-in was staged by the workers outside Khan’s Islamabad house and was wrapped up only after PTI chief promised to review all the tickets.