PM Imran Khan forms PTI’s Supreme Committee to devise strategy for local bodies polls

LAHORE: Prime Minister Imran Khan has established a 21-member Supreme Committee comprising the senior leadership of the party for the upcoming local body polls in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after suffering a major setback in the recently held first phase of local government elections in KP.

A meeting of the committee to discuss the Punjab local body polls and the second phase of the KP local body polls was held in Islamabad under the chairmanship of the prime minister.

Governor Punjab Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar, Chief Minister Punjab Usman Buzdar, Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari, PTI chief organiser Saifullah Niazi, Chief Minister KP Mahmood Khan, Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan Ali Amin Gandapur, Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar, Governor Sindh Imran Ismail, Minister for Education Shafqat Mahmood and Minister for Defence Pervez Khattak were in attendance.

Sources told Geo News that the meeting will decide the political strategy regarding the second phase of the KP local body polls and important decisions are also expected regarding the election battle in Punjab.

According to the sources, the PTI meeting will review the mayoral candidates for Lahore, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Multan, DG Khan, Sahiwal, Bahawalpur, Sargodha, and Rawalpindi.

The sources said that the names of political personalities for mayors in Gujarat and Sialkot would also be considered.

The PTI lost miserably in the first phase of the KP local government election, with opposition parties winning the majority of the seats.

The ruling party has conceded defeat in the elections, blaming internal rifts for the debacle.

Earlier, confirming the meeting, Federal Minister for Information Fawad Chaudhry said that PM Imran Khan would chair a meeting of the senior leadership of PTI today.

In a tweet, he said that important organisational and policy issues will be discussed in this consultative meeting.