ISLAMABAD: As crackdown on Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is continued, the core committee of the party on Monday said that it is being done by the “decision makers” to create hurdles for the PTI, as it is writing on the wall that no party can face its candidates if free and fair elections are held.

The core committee also regretted the delay in allotting the “bat” as electoral symbol to PTI for the upcoming general elections, adding except its verbal orders of August 30, the ECP is yet to issue its written orders with regard to allotting bat as the election symbol to PTI.

It said that the delay in issuance of the electoral symbol is unjustifiable and intolerable. It added any attempt to deprive the party of its election symbol would be a big conspiracy against ‘the biggest and the most popular’ political party in the country.

The meeting declared the only solution to steer the country out of the prevalent political and economic crisis could only be possible through a transparent election and by giving a level playing field to all political parties.

It warned that if those who think they can deprive PTI of its election symbol of bat through one way or another are building castles in the air to keep a populist party away from elections through baseless technicalities. They should make sure that such election would have no importance at all.

It continued that the party would knock on the doors of the courts in case it was deprived of its election symbol by the ECP which it said is bent upon not issuing its own written order in this particular case.

It was also decided to extend full support to the President of Balochistan National Party (BNP-Mengal) Sardar Akhtar Jan Mengal, who is holding a sit-in in Islamabad for recovery of all missing persons and for what he calls the “elimination of death squads in the province, including in Wadh”.

The party core committee said that a large number of PTI workers are missing due to which it would join hands with Mengal until all the party workers are recovered who have gone missing mysteriously for simply using their constitutional right to protest.

The committee about the re-arrests of party’s women leaders and workers after their bails were confirmed by different courts said there could be no bad jokes with court decisions.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023