LAHORE: With the finalisation of party tickets, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf has moved to pacify many a senior and known party workers who were expressing strong reservations about the selection of candidates.

As many aspirants were running from pillar to post for tickets, party chairman Imran Khan and vice chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi came to Lahore and met different [disgruntled] leaders and explained them about the ‘ground realities.’

“Everybody cannot be given ticket. This is every political party’s issue. The PTI is trying to find a middle ground through negotiations in the best interest of the party,” the vice chairman told media persons here on Thursday.

Qureshi says party to ‘compensate’ all those who could not get tickets

Stressing that it is high time that all PTI workers gelled together and worked for Imran Khan’s vision of “Naya Pakistan”, Mr Qureshi said the party would ‘compensate’ all those, who could not get tickets, after forming the government following the July 25 polls.

Imran Khan met the disgruntled leaders including those from Lahore, Multan and other districts at his [newly-built] Zaman Park residence. After hearing grievances, Mr Khan explained them the vision and reasons behind parliamentary board’s decisions.

Former PTI Lahore urban president Waleed Iqbal, who was expressing reservations after denial of ticket, came out excited and said the chairman had assured him that he would be candidate in the NA-131 by-election.

“Imran Khan told me to go to NA-131 and introduce myself as by-election candidate after Khan will win the seat,” he said.

Shortly after, Mr Khan launched his election campaign from Lahore and addressed charged party workers, who were chanting slogans “Prime Minister Imran Khan” as well as “Chief Minister Aleem Khan”.

The PTI chairman said Aleem Khan would run the election campaign from his NA-131 constituency and build it across Lahore. After Aleem Khan will chalk out a plan, he said, he would visit his constituency as well as across Lahore.

“We need to build campaign from Lahore as it will decide the match not only in Lahore but in the province. Punjab will decide the election results across the country,” he said.

Asserting that no one should take opponents lightly, he urged the workers and supporters to get ready and ‘play the match till last ball.’

Earlier, Shah Mahmood Qureshi said the party was listening to views of dissatisfied aspirants and brushed aside the talk about serious grouping in the party. He said the workers from Multan, who wanted to have a meeting with the chairman, met Imran and discussed their grievance. He rejected the rumours of his differences with Jahangir Tareen, saying “political debate always continues within parties.”

Mr Qureshi said the PML-N was now facing a tirade of criticism because of its administrative failure during the last 10 years and poor service delivery for the people of Punjab. For this reason, he said, the PML-N was crumbling from within as big names deserted the party.

Acknowledging that former PPP senior vice president Mian Manzoor Wattoo’s son and daughter were given PTI ticket, Mr Qureshi said Mr Wattoo would decide his vote after contesting the election as an independent candidate.

Meanwhile, PTI leader from Kamalia (NA-113, Toba Tek-Singh-III) Chaudhry Sarwar chided Imran Khan for awarding ticket to Riaz Fatyana and usurping the right of diehard workers. He regretted that even Haider Ali Khan was given ticket, who is facing a case of injuring over 100 PTI workers. He said Fatyana was also facing cases in National Accountability Bureau.

“The diehard workers, who remained part of Imran Khan’s campaign everywhere including the 126-day sit-in, have conveniently been ignored when the time had come to acknowledge their services for the party,” Mr Sarwar said.

He demanded that the tickets given to Riaz Fatyana and Haider Ali Khan be withdrawn.

Published in Dawn, June 29th, 2018