PTI faces nomination roadblocks for by-polls

Despite clinching victories in the February 8 elections across the central and provincial landscapes, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) candidates are facing roadblocks in submitting their nomination papers for the upcoming by-elections.

Hammad Azhar, the acting president and general secretary of PTI Central Punjab, took to social media platform X on Monday to express his frustration.He stated, "PP-147 Lahore Returning Officer (RO) Nabil Ahmed Memon refused to receive my nomination papers.

At 2 pm my representatives were told by the RO that I had not received the paper and office hours were over”.He recounted that when he contacted the officials of the Election Commission, they said that the time for submitting the paper had not yet ended, but then no one helped to submit the paper.

This is the seat that Hamza Shehbaz left."In another instance highlighted on the party's official social media account, a video showed police and law enforcement agencies obstructing PTI candidates from accessing the RO Office to submit their nomination papers.

The post read, "Qasira Elahi [wife of former Punjab Chief Minister and PTI Central President Pervaiz Elahi] is stopped by the police outside the RO's office on the second day too – the law of the jungle is in force in the country."However, amid the challenges faced by PTI candidates in filing nomination papers for the by-elections, there were a few success stories as well.

One of them is PTI candidate Hafiz Zeeshan Rasheed managed to submit his nomination papers for PP-149 and shared the receipt of his nomination papers with the media.

These incidents echo the grievances witnessed during the nomination process for the February 8 polls. Back then, law enforcement agencies were observed snatching nomination papers from independent candidates aligned with PTI, and in some cases, even resorting to abductions of candidates and their representatives.

Initially, the caretaker governments bore the blame for such heavy-handedness, However, following the installation of the representative government, PTI has pointed fingers at the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) for the alleged infractions.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) announced the election schedule for by-elections on national and provincial assembly seats across the country on Wednesday, March 13.According to the announcement, by-elections for vacant seats of the National and provincial assemblies will be held on April 21 nationwide.

This includes six seats of the National Assembly, 12 seats of the Punjab Assembly, and two each of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan assemblies.By-elections are also scheduled for one seat of the Sindh Assembly on April 21.

Per the election schedule, candidates could file nomination papers with the respective returning officers from March 16 to 18, with candidate names to be published on March 18.

The deadline for scrutiny of candidatures is March 21, and appeals against the decisions of returning officers regarding nominations can be filed by March 25.

The revised list of candidates will be published on March 28, while the last date for withdrawal of candidature and publication of the final list is March 29.Election symbols will be allotted on March 30, with polling scheduled for April 21.

PTI seeks permission for rally

In a related development, the PTI has formally applied for permission to hold a rally in Islamabad on the nights of March 23 and 24.

The request was submitted to the district magistrate.The application proposes three potential locations for the rally: D Chowk, F.9 Park, and Parade Ground, urging authorities to allow the gathering at any of the suggested sites.

In the event that holding the rally on March 23 proves unfeasible, PTI has requested alternative permission for March 30.Amir Masood Mughal, who also contested elections from Islamabad Constituency NA46, is overseeing the organisation of the rally, reportedly entrusted with this responsibility by the party's founding chairman.

Additionally, PTI is reportedly planning a long march and sit-in following Eid festivities, as part of its ongoing mobilisation efforts.