PTI announces public rallies in a lead-up to Feb 8 polls

Former ruling party holds virtual convention

LAHORE:

In defiance of formidable challenges, the PTI has announced its intention to conduct public rallies nationwide in a lead-up to the Feb 8 general elections.

As the elections approach near, the party encounters significant obstacles due to an apparent rise in authoritative actions by the state apparatus, particularly in Punjab, the nation's largest province.

Facing a lack of equitable opportunities, PTI has resorted to an innovative approach, utilising the internet and social media for their election campaign.

Following an unsuccessful legal battle to protect its iconic election symbol "bat," the party has sequentially launched websites to assist voters in identifying PTI-backed candidates and their respective symbols.

Notably, the pticandidates.com database, created by the party, has been blocked by authorities. In response, a deceptive website, pticandidate.com, has emerged, displaying fake PTI candidates to confuse voters. To counteract this strategy, the party introduced another website during its virtual convention, showcasing PTI candidates and their symbols at insafpk.github.io/pticandidates.

Additionally, a Meta Messenger Bot on Imran Khan's official Facebook page automatically provides candidates’ names and symbols in response to constituency numbers sent as messages, along with a link to the PTI WhatsApp channel for the same constituency.

Read Bat-less PTI locked out of parliamentary politics

During a virtual convention, PTI candidates from all four provinces voiced their concerns. Zartaj Gul Wazir, the PTI candidate from NA-185, lamented her restricted access to the constituency of Dera Ghazi Khan, with reports of her workers being arrested and impediments to electioneering.

She highlighted the administration's apparent influence on printers not to produce posters and panaflexes featuring her name and picture of PTI founding Chairman Imran Khan.

Momina Basit, PTI candidate from PK-33, vehemently denounced the derogatory remarks made by PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif about the people of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

She hailed the K-P's electorate move, noting their discernment in granting second chances to those deemed beneficial for the province.

Malik Zaheer Abbas Khokhar, PTI candidate for NA-127 Lahore, urged voters to actively participate in the Feb 8 elections, emphasising the PTI's commitment to supremacy and the rule of law in the country.

Various other PTI candidates also addressed the virtual convention.