Outsiders will not be nominated from K-P: Imran Khan

PTI chief meets lawmakers at CM House

PESHAWAR: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairperson Imran Khan assured his party lawmakers that a large number of appointments made in various provincial departments will be cancelled and filled through National Testing Service (NTS).

This was said during a meeting held at CM House on Wednesday.
Speaking to The Express Tribune, lawmakers who attended the meeting said Khan urged Chief Minister Pervez Khattak to cancel previous inductions and make new appointments on merit through NTS.

The meeting was conducted against the backdrop of protests by the party’s disgruntled members against appointments in the health, prisons and environment departments. As a result, the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) speaker Asad Qaiser was compelled to adjourn the session for a week.

“Many lawmakers asked Imran why PTI members were expected to comply with conditions of merit while its allies had a freehand in making appointments in their respective ministries,” a lawmaker told The Express Tribune.

Nominations 

Insiders familiar with the matter said the participants also discussed the party’s strategy to issue tickets to party members for the Senate polls and distributions of seats with its allies in the province.

Lawmakers urged Imran to nominate candidates on the basis of merit and agreed to accept his choice.
However, they objected to a ticket being allocated to Shandana Saad, widow of slain Peshawar police chief Malik Saad. “She is new to the party and her name was dropped from the list,” a PTI member said.
“Moreover, Fauzia Kasuri will not get a seat.”

Party members also asked Imran not to nominate candidates from outside the province,” he said. In return, the PTI chief assured lawmakers that no outsider will be nominated for the polls from K-P.

According to lawmakers, 131 people have submitted applications for nomination for Senate polls. The party board was reviewing the applications and interviewing candidates. The process is likely to take a day or two after which a final list of candidates will be prepared.

During the meeting, the decision to allocate a ticket for the father of Awami Jamhoori Ittehad Pakistan (AJIP) chief, Shahram Khan Tarakai, was also discussed. Party members said they will not support the nomination unless the AJIP chief merges his party in PTI.

“There is a strong likelihood of Shahram Khan Tarakai merging his party in PTI in coming few days,” a lawmaker said.

Fielding candidates

Separately, PTI’s dissident lawmaker in the K-P Assembly, Javed Nasim, has seconded the nomination of an independent candidate, Waqar Ahmed Khan, who hails from DI Khan. “It is my right as a lawmaker to propose and second a candidate for Senate,” he said.

Meanwhile, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl has nominated Maulana Attaur Rehman and Haji Manzoor Afridi for the general seat. Maulana Gul Naseeb Khan and Sheikh Yaqub have been nominated for a technocrat seat. Moreover, James Iqbal and the wife of Amjad Ali have been nominated for the women and minority seats, respectively.