RAWALPINDI, Feb 26: Police here on Tuesday stopped Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI) from holding intra-party elections in Rawalpindi, claiming there was a stay order against the polls.

However, the PTI contested the claim and said the police action was politically motivated.

Later, addressing a gathering of the workers and local leaders at the central office of the party in Islamabad, PTI Chairman Imran Khan accused the Punjab government of sabotaging the intra-party polls in Rawalpindi. He added: “Terrorists are allowed to roam freely across the province but the Punjab police are being used to sabotage the PTI polls. Our electoral offices are being sealed.”

He said the Sharif brothers had damaged the democratic system by indulging in corrupt practices and supporting the Zardari regime. He said Nawaz Sharif was hell-bent on reaching the power corridors. For this, he is even ready to forge electoral alliances with banned outfits, he added.

“As the PTI is going to introduce a new culture in the country by holding intra-party elections, dynastic political parties fear that their workers may also start demanding similar polls,” said the PTI chief.

Earlier in the day, when the PTI voters reached polling stations at Morgah, Committee Chowk Double Road and Commercial Market to elect their local office-bearers, they found the polling stations sealed by the police.

Many of the party workers also claimed that they were not allowed to stand outside the premises.

Upon this, the local leaders contacted the PTI leadership which asked them to come to the party’s central office in Islamabad to chalk out a future plan of action.

“I came from Kotli Sattian to vote in the elections but was amazed to see the closure of the polling station at Jhelum Road,” said Raja Safeer Hussain, a party worker.

He said his wife and sister had also come to take part in the election but the local leaders stopped them from entering the polling station.

Naimatullah Malik from Morgah said the police action was against the democratic norms.

He said he went to a polling station at 9am but was not allowed to enter the premises.

Summoned to court

Civil Judge Amir Zia on Tuesday summoned the PTI's district and provincial election commissioners on March 5 to explain why the intra-party elections were being held despite a stay order issued by the court.

The court on February 9 had restrained the PTI election commission from holding the intra-party elections in Rawalpindi on February 10.

The party, however, held the elections at the union council level on the said date.

Malik Anees and some other candidates had initially challenged the voter lists in the court. Their contention was that the PTI election commission had excluded a number of genuine voters from the list.

They alleged that the lists were bogus and could not be used for free and transparent party elections.

On Feb 25, they filed a contempt of court petition against the party's election commission for defying the stay order and holding the polls.

Saeed Yousuf Khan, a counsel for the petitioners, told Dawn that due to the stay order the PTI could not hold the intra-party elections.

He said the PTI election commission was violating the court order by continuing the process without addressing the grievances of the petitioners.

When contacted, former district nazim and PTI leader Raja Tariq Kiani said there was no court order restraining the party from holding the internal elections at the district level.

“Yes, there was a case in civil court of Judge Amir Zia but it was related to the union council elections. In his orders on February 9, the judge did not restrain the party from holding intra-party elections at the district level. The judge asked the party’s election commission to address the grievances of the plaintiffs who moved the court over deletion of their names from voter lists,” he said.

In reply to a question, Mr Kiani said the party had decided to hold the Rawalpindi district elections in Islamabad on Thursday (tomorrow) to avoid any interference by the PML-N led Punjab government.

On the other hand, City Police Officer (CPO) Azhar Hameed Khokhar told Dawn that the police did not stop the electoral process but the party’s election commissioner had resigned from the post a day earlier which stopped the electoral process.

“Not a single policeman entered the polling stations and if there was any such report the PTI leaders should produce the evidence,” he said.

He also added that the local court had stopped the electoral process on February 9.