Imran to contest NA by-polls on all 33 seats

PTI chief again taking no risks; party members who left seats to file papers as 'covering candidates'

LAHORE:

PTI chairman and former premier Imran Khan has decided to set another record by contesting the by-elections for all the 33 seats of the National Assembly -- left vacant after his party members resigned from them -- scheduled to be held on March 16.

Earlier in October last year, the PTI chief ran for eight constituencies and made history by bagging six seats.

“The PTI’s core committee and parliamentary party in its joint session has decided that Imran would be the party’s candidate in the upcoming by-elections,” PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood told the media in Lahore on Sunday.

He added that the earlier elected candidates from these constituencies would file their nominations as ‘covering candidates’.

Giving details of the joint session, Qureshi, who was accompanied by PTI Secretary General Asad Umar, said detailed discussions were held on the “gross violations” of the Constitution, suspension of basic human and fundamental rights as well as the nosediving economic conditions of the country.

Read By-polls for 33 NA seats on March 16: ECP

He highlighted that the PTI had passed four resolutions to draw the attention of the apex court and President Arif Alvi, who belonged to his party, towards the violations of the Constitution and fundamental rights.

“As the government is planning unconstitutional ways to delay the elections in both Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa provinces, this will be a clear violation of the Constitution, and  punishable under Article 6,” he claimed.

“The PTI will not tolerate even an hour’s delay in the elections,” he added.

The former foreign minister said the PTI had sacrificed its two governments while taking the constitutional route to ensure timely elections.

“Now we ask the judiciary to take action over the violations of the Constitution. The ruling coalition is afraid of holding elections in both the provinces. Political engineering is being carried out in the NA by-elections,” Qureshi maintained.

Presenting another resolution, PTI leader Umar urged President Alvi to take notice of the “harassment” of party leaders and activists as well as the “human rights violations” in the country.

He warned that such atrocities by the federal government would have adverse effects, adding that it would strengthen the ambitions of the country’s external enemies.

Umar urged the president to take notice of the K-P governor’s recent statement, wherein he had claimed that the date for the elections in the province would be given by the ‘powerful circles’.

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He added that the PTI demanded that the president should take notice of the rising interference of the ‘powerful circles' in the political affairs of the state.

Both leaders lamented the treatment meted out to their party colleague Fawad Chaudhry, saying his remand was extended thrice without any justification.

They urged the chief justice of Pakistan to take action on this “blatant violation” of the law.

This move was in violation of Article 14 of the Constitution, they added.

Fawad's wife, Hiba Chaudhry, was also present on the occasion.

She expressed her gratitude to the PTI chairman as well as other senior leaders of the party for standing by with her family and condemning the “atrocities” committed by the government.

She appealed to the CJP to take suo moto notice of “gross violations of law” in her husband's case.