Imran, PTI cancel all public gatherings prior to May 30

Say any such meetings would violate code of conduct; PTI chief summoned by ECP.

HARIPUR/ PESHAWAR:

Minister for Information Mushtaq Ghani announced on Tuesday Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s elected members will not hold public meetings till local government elections come to a close.

He said party chairperson Imran Khan also cancelled his scheduled visits to Mansehra, Abbottabad and Haripur for public gatherings, but would be touring the region soon after LG polls. The minister was talking to the media at Peshawar Press Club on Tuesday.

This announcement came on the heels of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) banning Imran from addressing gatherings.



Campaigning on development?

Ghani said objections were also raised over development projects and their timing. He argued schemes were announced ahead of the LG election schedule and will continue. However, no new projects would be launched as that would also be a violation of the code of conduct.

“If a tender for any development project was published before the schedule for polls was announced, it will be carried through. But, new projects will not be launched until LG elections are completed,” he added.

Acknowledging the constricted election schedule, Ghani agreed voters will face problems on May 30. He said casting one ballot could take up to nine minutes, but he urged all registered voters to exercise their constitutional right.

Lauding governance

The minister said the government opened itself to accountability by enacting the Right to Information Act. “Perform your duties honestly otherwise you will not find space in K-P,” Ghani quoted K-P Chief Minister Pervez Khattak as saying. He added the doors to corruption were closed and only honest people were serving the province.

No choice

Earlier on Monday, Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) barred Imran from addressing public meetings and rallies, and summoned him to appear on May 21 for allegedly violating the LG polls code of conduct.

The PTI chief was due in Hazara Division to address a public gathering in support of his party’s candidates in Mansehra, Abbottabad and Haripur. However, an independent candidate for a tehsil council seat from Central Haripur, Advocate Mohibullah Khan Qureshi, asked the ECP to intervene as he believed the PTI chief was violating the code.

Qureshi also attached clippings of local newspapers talking of Imran’s proposed rally in Haripur to his complaint.

“I have directly moved a complaint with the chief election commissioner and drawn his attention towards Imran’s violation,” Mohibullah Khan Qureshi told The Express Tribune on Tuesday.

Earlier, four PML-N candidates for Abbottabad’s district and tehsil councils Nadeem Mughal, Malik Waseem Advocate, Sajid Awan and Adil Abbasi also filed a complaint with Abbottabad District Returning Officer Captain (retd) Khalid Mehmood. They demanded Imran be prevented from addressing rallies and gatherings in the area.

Local PTI candidates expressed their resentment over the cancellation of the PTI leader’s events, saying objections to the visit were raised by those who feared defeat.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 20^th, 2015.