ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Thursday handpicked Shah Mehmood Qureshi, the incumbent foreign minister, once again as party vice chairman. A notification issued by the PTI Central Secretariat signed by Prime Minister Imran Khan, who is also the party chairman, said: “Shah Mehmood is appointed as party vice chairman. All office bearers, workers, members are hereby directed to cooperate with him in exercise of his duties”.
In a tweet, shortly after his appointment, Qureshi said: “It is my utmost privilege &honour to be appointed as vice chairman of PTI. I would like to thank founding Chairman Imran Khan for once again reposing confidence in me. Will continue to work with the office bearers, members & workers of PTI to strengthen our party”.
Speaking at a presser after a meeting of the PTI’s central executive committee, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain said that the PTI announced its advisory councils for various regions, including Punjab, Sindh, and others.
He said that except for Balochistan and the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, the PTI has announced its executive and advisory boards in the provinces, adding the councils had been constituted separately in Central and South Punjab, besides Sindh.
He said that Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Farrukh Habib had been appointed as the PTI’s information secretary, and Siraj Khan, finance secretary.
He said Prime Minister Imran Khan had directed PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Secretary General Asad Umar for coordinating with the provincial presidents with regard to the party’s new organisational set-up.
He said that the prime minister also directed the party to make preparations for the local government elections.
“We are reaching out to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) to build consensus for bringing amendment in the (election) code of conduct,” he said, adding the ministers, the prime minister, and the assembly members should be allowed to participate in the election campaign. It was “ridiculous” to issue notices to political people on running election campaigns in their constituencies, he remarked.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022