Re-election: Imran vows to lead campaign if MPs unseated

Advises party members not to return to assemblies .

ISLAMABAD:

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan has vowed to steer the party’s re-election campaign himself if PTI lawmakers are ousted for their absence from the lower house of parliament during last year’s demonstration in the federal capital.

“I will advise my party members not to return to the assemblies,” the PTI supremo said while addressing the media after meeting with party’s chief election commissioner in Islamabad on Tuesday.

Striking a defiant note, he said, “I want to make it clear, accept our resignations and I will lead the party’s election campaign myself.”

In a bid to reach an out-of-parliament solution on the resolutions against PTI, Speaker National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq deferred voting on the matter for two days.

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) moved the resolutions in the National Assembly to unseat PTI lawmakers, arguing that they had lost legitimacy in the house due to their extended absence during the party’s protest in the heart of Islamabad.

Commenting on the judicial commission report on allegations of vote fraud during the 2013 general elections, Imran said members of the poll body should have resigned for holding disputed elections. “There is no justification for Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) officials to continue in their positions,” he added.

Suspension of membership

Irked by divisions within party ranks, PTI chairman warned members against disclosing details of internal matters on public forums. The move reflects a desperate attempt to conceal internal fissures within the party.

“I am concerned that internal party matters and decisions are being discussed on public platforms.

PTI is a democratic party and all members have the right to express their opinion within the party.” Imran cautioned in a written letter to members of his party.

“If any individual comments on internal party affairs on any public forum, his/her basic membership will be immediately suspended,” the notice further stated.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 5^th, 2015.