Setbacks an opportunity to analyse mistakes: Imran

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan, following a defeat in NA-154 by-election, said “every setback is an opportunity to analyse mistakes”.

In a major upset for PTI before the general elections, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) won the by-poll for the constituency of NA-154 Lodhran, according to unofficial results from all 338 polling stations.

In a message on Twitter, Imran wrote: “For all Insafians who are feeling dejected after the NA154 result, every setback is an opportunity to analyse one's mistakes, correct them and come back stronger. Successful people, institutions & nations learn from their failures.”

In another tweet, Imran said: “Those who get demoralised can never achieve their potential. In my decades of political struggle for Insaf I have never been demoralised but have come back stronger after confronting adversities. The 2018 election is ours InshaAllah.”

Meanwhile, Naeemul Haque of the PTI told a private news channel that would have to focus on and address the weaknesses resulting in losing the seat. He added that the party needed a people-oriented manifesto to attract the voters.

He claimed that no one from his party was ready to become MNA for three months and they had to call Ali Tareen who was studying at the Oxford University. Naeem, however, said the PTI was a very large party, adding that Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi was just a puppet and never took any step against the wishes of Nawaz Sharif.

The PTI MNA Asad Umar, defending the nomination of Ali Tareen as party candidate, said everything was given free in hereditary politics without any need of a fight.

In case of Ali, he said, he fought and bagged over 80,000 votes but couldn’t succeed in the contest. Asad said Ali would have to create space for himself, but added that “the (party) ticket isn’t obtained in free” because elections needed a huge expenditure.

Another PTI MNA Ali Muhammad Khan said some issues were not in their favour, adding that the voters standing for a change did not come to vote as the general elections were just round the corner.

He said every PTI voter stood for change and Imran Khan would become the prime minister in 2018 with the Punjab chief minister’s office also to be grabbed by his party.

Ali said 850,000 people voted for the PTI in Karachi even when Altaf Hussain had control over the city and one could imagine the numbers in 2018. He said the voters in Punjab were divided into two camps -- PML-N and anti-PML-N -- he said, adding that the PPP voters too had joined the PTI due to the slogan of change.