Student uprising: ISF activists to contest LG polls independently

Say party activists have been ignored by PTI leaders.

BANNU: The Insaf Student Federation (ISF) in Bannu announced it would contest local government elections independently as the parliamentary board of the district ignored the party’s workers when issuing tickets.

ISF K-P Vice President Masoom Wazir and Bannu district president Kashif Khan were flanked by a large number of activists when they made this announcement during a news conference at Bannu Press Club on Monday. They added the Bannu PTI parliamentary board, including Special Assistant to CM Shah Muhammad Khan and MNA Ayesha Gulalai, had given tickets to people affiliated with other parities and ignored their own workers.

They also condemned the decision of the youth wing which barred ISF from taking part in the local government elections.

The students argued that ISF always played an important role in party politics and provided leaders like Murad Saeed. Bannu ISF’s activists said several of their leaders had contested polls in the past.

They said Imran Khan is their leader and he has given workers the right to protest against anything violating the party’s manifesto.

They alleged that MPA Malik Shah Muhammad and Ayesha Gulalai gave several seats to members of the youth wing who then said at a press conference that the ISF cannot contest elections.

The ISF leaders claimed party tickets had been allotted to “hooligans” and they would not tolerate such a move.

They vowed to contest elections in the district independently against the same people who were given tickets by the PTI. The students said they would meet Imran Khan on April 24 to voice their concerns over the matter.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 21^st, 2015.