LAHORE: Welcoming Lahore High Court’s decision against non-party local body polls, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf President Ejaz Chaudhry and Secretary-General Dr Yasmin Rashid said the party would now ‘eliminate’ PML-N in the local government election.

Stating that the LHC decision had ‘traumatised’ the PML-N, they announced that the PTI had accepted the challenge of LG elections in Punjab on Dec 7.

Speaking at a news conference at party’s provincial secretariat on Thursday, the PTI leaders said the LHC had given a historic decision. He said the PTI would fight if the LHC decision was challenged. He said that the party would also file an appeal in the court against uncalled for delimitation of constituencies by the Punjab government.

Acknowledging Barrister Bakhtiar Kasuri’s win in the court battle, Mr Chaudhry said the people’s mandate was bulldosed on the basis of majority in the Punjab Assembly. He said there were two mindsets in Pakistan – one follower of democracy and the other admirer of martial law.

The PTI provincial president said party’s all organisations had been divided divisions. The party had constituted tehsil and town committees to prepare for the local body elections. He said the party would finalise candidates after due consultation at all levels.

Dr Yasmin Rashid said the Election Commission of Pakistan had failed to perform its due role in holding the May 11 general elections in a fair and transparent manner. She demanded that the ECP should now come up to people’s expectations and print ballot papers on its own and arrange magnetic ink for local body elections.

She said the PTI had also taken all opposition parties in confidence before filing a writ petition against the non-party polls in Punjab and added that the LHC decision was a victory of all opposition parties in the province.

Opposition leader in Punjab Assembly Mian Mahmoodur Rasheed said the provincial government had violated the basic principles in the delimitation of constituencies. He said the DCO and ACs had delimited the constituencies to favour PML-N candidates. Wherever PTI candidates had won, he said, those constituencies had been re-demarcated to cut party votes. “This is a clear-cut example of pre-poll rigging,” he said.

Rasheed said the PTI had also challenged the Punjab government’s coordination committees, wherein even PML-N’s defeated candidates had been made members and given funds worth millions of rupees. The PTI’s writ petition in this regard will be taken up by the Lahore High Court on Friday (today).

Barrister Bakhtiar Kasuri, Noor Khan Bhabha, Naeem Mir, Mian Aslam Iqbal and other party leaders were also present on the occasion.

ALEEM: PTI Lahore President Abdul Aleem Khan has said the LHC decision against non-party local body election in Punjab has foiled the ‘horse trading attempt’ and thwarted PML-N’s plan for stealing the local council polls like the May 11 general elections. He said the decision had caused commotion in the corridors of power in Punjab.

Talking to media on Friday, Mr Khan said the LHC decision was a win of party’s principled stand of holding local body elections on a party basis.