PTI gets lackluster response from Sindh

Imran decides to respond to Shehbaz’s defamation suit

ISLAMABAD: Election Management Cell (EMC) of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has so far received 2,850 applications from people aspiring to get party tickets to contest the upcoming general elections, according to a party leader.

The PTI has already extended the deadline for submission of applications till May 13 from the earlier May 4.

Majority of the applications has been received from Punjab, followed by Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), Sindh, Balochistan, Fata and Islamabad, according to a member of the party’s EMC.

With the Election Commission of Pakistan finalising the delimitation of constituencies a couple of days ago, there are a total of 849 seats for national and provincial assemblies.



They include 272 National Assembly seats – 141 in Punjab, 61 in Sindh, 39 in K-P, 16 in Balochistan, 12 in Fata and three in Islamabad – and 577 seats in four provincial assemblies, including 297 in Punjab, 130 in Sindh, 99 in K-P, and 51 in Balochistan.

The EMC member said the PTI received a ‘below expectation’ response from Sindh, adding that the party had decided to hold rallies in Karachi starting in the second week of May, besides a public gathering in Waziristan on May 11.

He said the response from Punjab, K-P and Islamabad was overwhelming.

According to the PTI leader, 17 applicants – including Asad Umar, Saifullah Khan Niazi, Amir Kiyani, Dr Babar Awan and others – have applied for party tickets for three National Assembly seats from the federal capital.

According to the EMC member, party’s parliamentary board, headed by the PTI chairman, would review the applications and okay party candidates for the next general elections.

Imran Khan, the party chief, has declared that truthfulness, loyalty to the party, ability to contest election and win it are the four basic qualities party leadership would evaluate in a candidate before awarding ticket for national and provincial assemblies.

Application for ticket aspirants is available on the party’s official website while the PTI would also place on the website credentials of applicants who would be awarded party tickets.



Submission of fee amounting to Rs50,000 is mandatory for those applying for the ticket of a provincial assembly seat while for the National Assembly seat, the fee is Rs100,000.

The EMC member said the PTI would complete the whole process of award of party tickets by the end of May.

Meanwhile, the PTI chief has finally decided to respond to a defamation suit filed against him by Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Imran had alleged that he was offered Rs10 billion by a close associate of the Punjab chief minister to keep mum on the Panama Papers case against former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

Despite repeated court notices, Imran did not offer any response. However, on Saturday, the PTI decided that Dr Babar Awan will appear before the court on May 15 in the damages suit.

The decision came after a one-on-one meeting between Imran and Awan.

“The PTI will try to convince the court that a person [Shehbaz] who has bad reputation and already facing cases of corruption, nepotism, and murder could not file a defamation suit,” says a statement issued by the party’s central media department.