[🇵🇰] PTI News, Updates and Discussion

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PTI notifies office bearers ahead of schedule after ‘no contest’​

Ikram Junaidi
March 1, 2024

PTI Secretary General Omar Ayub and Chairman Gohar Khan. — File photos
ISLAMABAD: In a late-night development, PTI announced that Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and Omar Ayub were elected the party’s chairman and general secretary, respectively, after their opponents withdrew nomination papers.

Similarly, provincial presidents of Sindh, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chapters were also announced. An election will now only be held to elect the Balochistan chapter president.

In Balochistan, three candidates, Amin Khan Jogazai, Dawood Shah, and Munir Ahmed Baloch, will contest the election on March 3.

PTI was set to hold intra-party elections on March 3, for which a number of leaders submitted their nomination papers as panels.

Gohar, Omar to be chariman and secy general, respectively, after their rivals ‘withdraw’ papers

But a majority of those leaders withdrew nomination papers only two days before the election, PTI’s Federal Election Commissioner Raoof Hasan told.

In the absence of opponents on most seats, he was left with no option but to notify the unopposed winners.

According to a notice issued by Mr Hasan and seen by Dawn, there was only one candidate each for the posts of chairman; secretary general; and Punjab, KP and Sindh presidents.

“There shall be no polling for the stated five positions. Polling shall take place only in Quetta for the election of President Balochistan Panel,” the notice said, adding that the federal election commissioner will declare the final result on March 3.

 

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PTI’s ex-lawmakers move high court against ‘non-provision’ of documents by ECP, ROs​

Bureau Report
March 2, 2024

PESHAWAR: Three former lawmakers of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and contestants of general elections on Friday moved Peshawar High Court against non-provision of relevant election documents to them by Election Commission of Pakistan and the returning officers concerned.

Almost identical petitions were filed by former provincial ministers Kamran Khan Bangash and Taimoor Saleem Khan and ex-deputy speaker of the provincial assembly Mehmood Jan seeking directives of the court for ECP, Peshawar district returning officer and returning officers to forthwith provide them attested copies of Forms 45, 46, 47, 48 and 49 of their respective provincial assembly constituencies.

They have requested the court to declare as illegal the act of the said respondents of not providing them the attested copies of the said forms.

They have sought further directives of the court for the respondents to provide them CCTV footage of the consolidation proceedings by the returning officers of their constituencies.

Allege returning officers manipulated results in their constituencies

The petitioners Kamran Bangash, Taimoor Saleem and Mehmood Jan contested the Feb 8 general elections from PK-82, PK-79 and PK-72 constituencies respectively.

They claimed that as per the Form 45 received by their polling agents from the presiding officers in each of the polling stations, they had won against their rival candidates with a big margin. However, they stated that the returning officers concerned had manipulated the results and issued controversial Form 47 (provisional results) declaring their rivals as returned candidates.

The petitions, filed through senior lawyer Ali Gohar Durrani, include ECP through its secretary, the Peshawar district returning officer and the returning officers concerned as respondents.

The petitioners contended that the provisions of the Elections Act, 2017, were specifically violated as neither the said forms were uploaded on the ECP website as mandated by section 95 (10) nor they were allowed for public inspection of the documents as per section 100 of the Act.

The petitioners stated that following massive pre-poll rigging in various modes and forms, finally the polls were held on Feb 8.

They stated that after the closure of the polling process, which was marred by disruption of cellular phone service, the votes were finally counted and signed Form 45 were issued to the petitioners’ polling agents clearly reflecting the petitioners to have won the elections.

The petitioners claimed that following Form 45, they came for the result compilation for the provisional consolidation before the returning officer, however, entry was not allowed to them or their polling agents from 9pm on Feb 8 till 6am the next morning.

They stated that when entry was allowed to them they were merely told that they had ended up not as returned candidates, as was the requirement of Form 45 results, but instead their votes were reduced and other candidates were declared as returned on the basis of some manipulated Form 45, which despite the clear mandate of the Elections Act, 2027, had not been shared with the petitioners.

The petitioners informed that they had approached the high court for issuing directives to the respondents for consolidation of the results on the basis of Form 45 so issued by the presiding officers and the court had then issued directives in this regard.

However, they stated that ECP had rejected their respective petitions through short order while no detailed reasoning was yet available. They stated that the ECP had directed the petitioners to approach the election tribunals.

They contended that they had written applications to the ROs, DRO and also the district election commissioner (DEC) seeking the attested copies of Form 45, 46, 47, 48 and 49. However, they added, the respondents had been shifting the burden on each other for the purpose.

They contended that finally the DEC had written to the DRO to share the attested copies of the forms so requested with the petitioners by giving reason that the forms were still in the custody of the ROs.

 

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The Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Ali Amin Gandapur, has announced that around nine lac eligible people in the province will receive Rs 10,000 each during Ramadan.

 

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Barrister Gohar elected PTI chairman ‘unopposed’ for second time after fresh intra-party polls​

Party spokesperson and CEC Raoof Hasan makes the announcement; Omar Ayub elected secretary general.

 

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PTI worker hospitalised after police torture at GPO Chowk; IGP denies​

Mansoor Malik
March 4, 2024

LAHORE: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) has vehemently condemned the ‘brutal torture’ of citizens peacefully protesting against rigging in elections at GPO Chowk on March 2, following reports that one of the torture victims has been admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) of Lahore General Hospital on Sunday.

According to the PTI, Ahmad Shah, a young man, was allegedly arrested during Saturday’s PTI protest at GPO Chowk and subjected to severe torture while in custody. The party claims that the youth sustained fierce blows to his head, leading to his transfer to the ICU at Lahore General Hospital, where he is currently fighting for his life.

A police spokesman said Ahmad Shah sustained injuries when he ran to avoid arrest but fell on road in the process at the GPO Chowk. He said Shah was stable and scans at LGH showed no fracture.

 

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PTI unveils results of party polls ‘held on SC guidelines’​

Ikram Junaidi
March 4, 2024

ISLAMABAD: The PTI has officially announced the results of its intra-party polls, declaring that Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and Omar Ayub Khan have been elected unopposed as the chairman and secretary general of the party, respectively, in elections held as per Supreme Court guidelines.

In Balochistan, however, where elections were held for the provincial chapter chief on Sunday, the panel of Dawood Shah, who had the backing of PTI founder Imran Khan, prevailed over Amin Khan Jogezai and Dr Munir Ahmed Baloch.

According to the party’s provincial election commissioner, Dawood Usmankheil, three panels contested the intra-party election for PTI’s Balochistan president.

Mr Shah, a local leader from Quetta, was elected the PTI Balochistan president after securing 445 votes, while Dr Baloch, the former provincial president, remained second with 435 votes. Mr Jogezai received only 57 votes.

According to Mr Usmankheil, registered party voters cast their votes in the elections.

There were 940 registered votes, and the turnout was 100 per cent. Three votes were rejected.

PTI workers see Dr Baloch’s defeat as an upset, as he was the local favourite.

The other three provincial chapters heads have already been elected unopposed.

Dr Yasmin Rashid, Ali Amin Gandapur and Haleem Adil Sheikh will be the presidents for the party’s Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh chapters, respectively.

All winners were nominated and backed by the incarcerated PTI founder, and their victory was guaranteed anyway. However, to meet ECP’s requirement and avoid any unopposed election, rival panels also submitted nomination papers.

However, the contesting candidates later withdrew their nomination papers, paving the way for the unopposed wins of all of Mr Khan’s nominees.

Polls ‘in line with SC guidelines’

In Islamabad, PTI’s Federal Election Commissioner Raoof Hasan formally announced the results during a press conference on Sunday.

Mr Hasan claimed that intra-party elections were held for the third time as per the Supreme Court’s guidelines.

Ashraf Jabbar and Dr Muhammad Aslam, who voluntarily withdrew their nomination papers as chairman candidates and returning officers for the election of chairman and secretary general, Ayesha Khalid and Amina Ali, respectively, were also present on the occasion.

Mr Hasan said four candidates had filed nomination papers for the PTI chairman post, three of whom were accepted and one rejected.

However, the other three candidates later withdrew their nominations, and Barrister Gohar was elected the chairman unopposed.

Mr Ayub, who was also part of Barrister Gohar’s panel, was nominated by the PTI founder.

He thanked Mr Jabbar and Dr Aslam, who “voluntarily withdrew” their nomination papers in favour of Mr Gohar “in the party’s interest” and to maintain harmony and unity.

Mr Hasan added that nomination papers of Naveed Anjum Khan were rejected because he contested the general election against a PTI-backed independent candidate.

Therefore, his party membership was cancelled by the district president on February 11.

 

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Protest rallies against ‘rigging’: 300 PTI activists booked in Bahawalpur, Gujrat​

Among the booked are 30 PTI leaders and office-bearers; Dawn learns that police teams raided the houses of some activists but police deny it.

 

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PTI’s intra-party polls challenged again​

PTI founding member Babar questions unopposed election of current PTI leadership

The intra-party elections of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) have come under scrutiny once again as two petitions were filed at the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday for their nullification, Express News reported.

Akbar S Babar, a founding member of the party, alongside two other PTI members, lodged petitions urging for an investigation into alleged irregularities.

Former Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa chief minister Mahmood Khan and PPP's Muhammad Muzammil submitted one petition, while Babar presented another, both seeking nullification of PTI's intra-party elections.

Speaking outside the ECP office, Babar expressed his disappointment, stating, "Today, we once again appeared before the ECP. It saddens me to say that we have come to file a petition against the fresh fraud committed by PTI. We had hoped that this party would give its workers their due rights. What they cry foul about regarding electoral malpractice in general elections, they do not extend the same rights to their workers. If they had given their workers their rights in the party elections, their mandate would have been accepted."

Babar also addressed his absence from the party elections, saying, "I have been asked why I did not participate in the party elections. I had announced in a press conference that the PTI chairman should declare his lawyer, and we will do the same. We organised a seminar on January 25, where we proposed this, but I was kept away from the intra-party election."

Referring to a press release by PTI announcing his departure from the party, Babar contested the decision, stating, "The Supreme Court has declared me a party member. Today, I have submitted a petition for action against them because they do not allow the party leadership to reach the workers."

Questioning the unopposed election of the current PTI leadership, Babar highlighted discrepancies, stating, "They wrote to the Supreme Court that we have 800,000 votes in our party, but in the elections, only 940 members cast their votes."

 

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PTI alleges ‘180-degree turns’ in Form-45s​

Ikram Junaidi
March 7, 2024

PTI claims the Form-45 for polling station 19 in NA-128 (Lahore) seems to have been tampered with, as the tally for Awn Saqlain has been written over, to change ‘173’ to ‘973’.—Source: ecp.gov.pk

• Party shares ‘proof’ of tampering, claims rivals’ votes unfairly increased
• Alleges turnout crossed 100pc at several polling stations
• PTI Sindh leader sarcastically advises CEC to use ‘ink remover’ rather than ‘correction fluid’

ISLAMABAD: The PTI leadership alleged on Wednesday that the Form-45s published by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on its website were heavily tampered, with the results being changed in favour of PTI’s rivals and voter turnout crossing 100 per cent at several polling stations.

 

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If it took 35 years for these politicians to understand that what they thought was a tiger, is donkey,
You guess how much time it would take for a common patwari to understand this ?

 

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