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Tuesday March 19, 2024

Award of tickets: Police baton charge PTI protesters at Banigala

By Mumtaz Alvi
June 19, 2018

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan told his angry party workers on Monday that he would not change his decision on award of tickets to candidates for the general election just because of their pressure.

The PTI activists lodged a strong protest outside Imran's residence and had to face police baton-charge in their bid to get what they called right decisions.

The PTI chairman came out of his Banigala residence to pacify the workers and allay their concerns. Party Senator Chaudhry Sarwar and some other party members flanked Imran. The PTI chairman explained to the party workers that the decisions on tickets had been taken purely on merit by the parliamentary board. He made it clear to them that even if 10,000 workers gathered, he would not change any decision on the ticket, just because of their pressure. He emphasised, “If I change my decision today because of you, tomorrow more people will come here: I am not saying this because of honesty; I am saying this because I fear Allah”.

Imran urged the workers to submit review petitions and that he would sit with his board and decide on the issue. During Imran’s address, several party workers kept on putting forward their complaints verbally and they said that those, who were part of the party’s membership drive, were not given tickets, and outsiders were obliged.

To this, again Imran tried to cool them down by saying that they would decide on the basis of merit. Following his assurances, the party workers ended their protest and dispersed peacefully. Since the day the party’s parliamentary board started announcing award of party tickets to the aspirants of the National Assembly, party workers, mostly from parts of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, have been agitating outside Imran’s residence.

Meanwhile, those reversed their decision to disperse peacefully and insisted on staying put unless justice was done to them, Imran called such party workers to let him concentrate on their applications. The PTI chairman contended that in the next three days, he would concentrate hard on their petitions and justice would be done. However, the party workers decided to stay for three days.