PTI dissolves its elected bodies, to hold party polls

ISLAMABAD: A special consultative meeting of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Sunday decided to hold intra-party polls afresh while dissolving all the elected bodies as per the order of the Election Tribunal Report (ETR) headed by Justice (retd) Wajeehuddin Ahmad.
The forum, which met here under Chairman Imran Khan, welcomed the tribunal in a democratic spirit and made key decisions in its light. Some participants proposed that Hamid Khan should not be made the chief election commissioner again, sources told The News.
There were strong voices — though some opposed — to rejoin the National Assembly and the provincial assemblies of Punjab and Sindh, which have been repeatedly termed a product of rigged elections and were termed the refuge of corrupt politicians and tax-evaders.
Sources pointed out there were also some PTI leaders who expressed concern over the tribunal’s decision not to give more time for holding party polls in view of the approaching local bodies elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and afterwards in Sindh and Punjab.
It was decided that the PTI’s election commission would be formed immediately and necessary committees be formed under the commission to finalise the membership and election modalities.
The commission will recommend to the party chairman the time period required for holding intra-party elections after assessing the administrative/constitutional requirements. The party leadership accepted the tribunal’s recommendation about dissolving all elected bodies. However, the PTI chairman, in accordance with the tribunal’s decision, has nominated the dissolved office-bearers to their elected offices till the election schedule recommended by the commission.
The PTI claims to be the first political party in Pakistan that held intra-party polls in a democratic way and then on receiving complaints formed a probe commission first and then a tribunal to determine the fairness of the exercise.
The current political climate and the fluid political situation required this decision, as the party cannot function in a vacuum, a statement by PTI Central Information Secretary Dr. Shireen Mazari said.
About the proposed judicial commission and the option of whether or not to return to the legislatures, the senior leadership decided that the decision would be taken after the actual formation of the commission.