‘Founding leaders’ to hold PTI intra-party polls again

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) national conference, organised by its founding leaders here Thursday, announced to reactivate the party and hold intra-party polls afresh, claiming the current dissident leadership of the party has lost all legal, political and moral rights to lead.

The development came with February 8 general elections less than two weeks away while PTI has fielded candidates after having been denied the allotment of ‘bat’ as its symbol, for not being able to hold intra-party polls as per its constitution and the related laws.

The founding members spoke their heart out during the conference here, which also passed a resolution at the end. Those who spoke included Akbar S Babar, founding member, Saeedullah Khan Niazi, Yousaf Khan, Mehmood Khan, Nooreen Farooq, Muzammil Khan and Arshad Ansari. Niazi presided over the conference.

Later, Akbar S Babar, a former central information secretary of the party and vice-president, spoke to a media conference, read out the resolution and responded to questions from reporters.

Babar said that in December, two dozen people gathered in an anonymous village of Peshawar and the drama of intra-party elections was created. He added that “today we have pledged that after the legal battle, we will now enter the political arena. Let me make it clear that our only agenda is that the party should be handed over to the PTI workers.” He made it clear that the founding members will remain the party members for life, adding, “We will set an example for other political parties, taking all the party members along. We are laying the foundation of democracy, we are promoting democracy in political parties.”

He said the conference expressed solidarity with the workers of the party who have suffered hardships due to the misguided policies of a self-serving leadership that used them for their power pursuits. It rejected the very notion of the defunct PTI leadership conducting fresh intra party elections.

The conference declared that any attempt by the defunct PTI leadership to hold fresh intra-party elections will be challenged at all legal forums. The conference condemned what it called the ‘loot sale’ of PTI tickets for the upcoming general elections. In this regard, four provincial committees were formed to identify and support genuine PTI workers contesting the elections.

The delegates representing all the four provinces, including founding members of the party, decided to conduct fresh intra-party elections. In this regard, central and provincial organizing committees would be announced soon to organise the party across the country.

A fresh membership drive would be launched to prepare a credible list of members eligible to vote in the fresh intra-party elections. Likewise, a new election commission of PTI would be announced soon to conduct transparent intra-party elections under the relevant laws of the country and the ECP-approved PTI constitution.

“As soon as fresh intra-party elections are conducted, the ECP would be notified accordingly to validate the intra-party polls and seek return of PTI’s election symbol bat,” the resolution reads. To avoid unauthorised use of public money by the defunct PTI leadership, the conference urged the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to direct scheduled banks to freeze all PTI bank accounts until such time it complies with the ECP orders and holds fresh intra-party elections in accordance with law.

Among the participants, besides Saeedullah Niazi who Babar said is the president of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Punjab and a close associate of the founding chairman PTI, Dr Aslam Kakar (Quetta), Ashraf Ali (Swabi), ex-Rear Admiral Javed Iqbal, Jahangir (Charsadda), Insha (Lahore), Malik Fariduddin Advocate (Karak), Reham Khan (Shangla), Nayyar (Lahore), ex-Group Captain Rab Nawaz, Nooreen, Shazia, Bashir Raja (Azad Kashmir) and Arshad Ansari came from Faisalabad to be part of the event.

The conference termed the recent judgment of the Supreme Court of Pakistan in the PTI intra party election case as a historic first. “For the first time in our democratic history has the fundamental rights of political workers under Article 17 of the Constitution of Pakistan and Election Act 2017 to elect the leadership of their choice been upheld at the highest judicial forum,” it said.

The Supreme Court verdict, the resolution says, will go a long way in building solid foundations of a functional democracy that can address the issues confronting society by propelling credible and competent leadership to the forefront.

The conference declared that the verdict will eventually lead to democratising all political parties and ending the control of individuals and families who use them solely for their power pursuits. The moot lauded the efforts of Akbar S Babar to redirect PTI to its founding ideals and principles.

Reacting to the conference, a PTI spokesperson lashed out at “another conspiracy under state patronage after stripping PTI of its electoral symbol of bat”, saying that Babar’s activeness speaks volumes about bafflement and nervousness of his patrons and a clear sign of their defeated mindset because PTI has now become an undefeatable political force despite all odds.

The PTI spokesperson said that Akbar S Babar has always been willing to be used by undemocratic forces for personal interests. He pointed out that the patrons of this tout were in bewilderment and in total disarray because all their schemes and plots fell flat; hence the “certified tout” was unleashed in the field once again with new intrigue.

However, PTI spokesperson made it clear that they should bear in mind that not only the workers of PTI but now the entire nation was well-aware about such mischievous and malicious plan and it would meet the same fate. He noted that the failed attempts to interfere in the internal affairs of the political party through Babar were a clear reflective of their defeated mindset.

By making PTI Founding Chairman Imran Khan as their election symbol, he vowed that the nation was ready and determined to teach a lesson to the tout and the patrons through the power of their votes in the much-needed general elections scheduled for February 8, 2024.

He claimed this person had always been used by undemocratic forces for the sake of personal interest and his life purpose was to be used for conspiracies against the Constitution and democracy. The spokesperson stated that any action of this person pertaining to the party would neither have any legal status and nor the party or the nation would accept it in any circumstances.