PTI reorganisation on the fast track

Former parliamentarian Ishaq Khan Khakwani had been named head of the south region, tasked to oversee reorganisation

LAHORE: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf has nearly completed reorganisation of the party in south Punjab. Completing the process has become paramount in the face of the party’s Accountability Campaign set to take stage in the central Punjab later this month.

The PTI chairman had nominated four regional presidents in the Punjab after its second intra-party elections were delayed due to internal rifts.  Former parliamentarian Ishaq Khan Khakwani had been named the head of the south region and was tasked to oversee reorganisation of the party in 11 districts.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Khakwani said the process was nearly complete. “Nominations have been notified in four districts. Nominations have been finalised in four more districts.”

He said reorganisation in Multan, hometown of the party’s vice chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi, was set to commence.

Khakwani said performance and merit were the basis for the reorganisation decisions.

“There is a governance vacuum in south Punjab. There is a lot of space for the PTI to organise here,” he said. “There are a lot of issues in this part of the province which are neglected.” The party’s Accountability Campaign will feature rallies in central Punjab, the region under Aleem Khan.

Khan said he wanted to reorganise the party to strengthen it at the grassroots level and to ensure that there were no rifts in the party. He has not yet notified appointments for Lahore and the Gujranwala divisions.

Khakwani said the party’s regional wings were awaiting orders from the leadership to join the campaign. The party will hold a rally from Rawalpindi to Islamabad later this week. Party chairman Imran Khan has said that the next step in the campaign would be announced after this rally.

“New targets will be given after the Pindi rally,” said Khakwani. “Till then, the party will complete the reorganisation. We have enough time. Hopefully we will soon move on to mobilising people soon,” he said.

Party insiders said the core leadership was deliberating on discontinuing the campaign in the wake of Monday’s bombing in Quetta.

They said the party’s MPAs from Rawalpindi had submitted a letter to the Rawalpindi DCO, informing them of PTI’s August 13 rally and had requested security arrangements and a traffic plan. The rally, according to the letter, would be led by Imran Khan, Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Jehangir Tareen.

It will take participants from Rawalpindi to Faisal Avenue in Islamabad. The party’s leadership is also expected to meet in Islamabad on Thursday (today) to chalk out details of the next stage of the campaign.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 11^th, 2016.