Polls in KP: Imran has asked party to quickly finalise list of candidates: Qaiser

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader and ex-NA speaker Asad Qaiser on Saturday said that party chairman Imran Khan has issued directives to expedite the process of finalizing the candidates for the upcoming elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Talking to journalists after attending a meeting with regard to elections for the provincial assembly - as the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is yet to announce the date for the polls – he said the party chairman has directed the senior leadership to expedite the process of finalizing the names of the candidates.

He said that PTI chairman held a detailed meeting with the senior party leadership from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Lahore about the upcoming elections of the provincial assembly, as well as, the by-elections on some seats of National Assembly - as the ECP had already issued the by-polls schedule for some NA seats which fell vacant after the NA speaker accepted PTI MNAs resignations.

The PTI chairman instructed the senior party leadership to gear up the preparations for the next elections, saying there should be no negligence as the upcoming elections will be the most important elections in history of the country.

He asked them to devise a comprehensive political strategy and be fully prepared for the next electoral battle, said the sources, adding country’s political situation, PTI’s political strategy and future plan of action were discussed in detail during the meeting.

Qaiser condemned the stance maintained by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police at apex committee meeting held on February 03.

He said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was the most affected province by terrorism, but the then PTI government effectively curbed the menace, which was the reason peace had been restored.

“PTI KP chapter is continuously keeping the masses updated with the rise in terrorism while the federal government is paying no heed to curb it”, he added.

The Sharif-led federal government, he alleged, was following fascist tactics instead which is evident from the victimization of its political opponents.

He said that the federal government did not release Rs230 billion earmarked for countering terrorism.

Meanwhile, the sources within PTI said that the party may skip the all parties’ conference (APC) being held on February 07 in wake of ghastly terrorist attack at a mosque inside the heavily guarded Police Lines in Peshawar which claimed 102 lives and left over a hundred injured.

They said that as the PTI chief had already turned down an invitation by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to attend the APC, it is quite unlikely someone from the party might attend the moot on behalf of the party.

They said that the surge in terror attacks went intensified after ‘imported regime’ was imposed on people of the country through a regime conspiracy, and it has miserably failed to ensure law and order situation in the country.

They were of the view that the only solution to rid the country of the menace of terrorism coupled with economic and political instability is going for snap elections.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023