• Selection of wrong candidates main reason behind loss
• PM to personally monitor local bodies elections in future
• Minister says emergence of JUI-F, TLP unfortunate

ISLAMABAD: Terming the re-emergence of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) “unfortunate” and “harmful” for the country, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government on Tuesday confessed that faulty strategy had led to its defeat in the first phase of local government (LG) elections in its stronghold, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The government admitted that fielding “wrong” candidates and lack of unity among them was the main reason behind the success of the “religious extremist” political party.

Prime Minister Imran Khan also vowed to personally monitor the LG polls in the country in future.

In his tweet, PM Khan said: “PTI made mistakes in 1st phase of KP LG elections & paid the price. Wrong candidate selection was a major cause. From now on I will personally be overseeing PTI’s LG election strategy in 2nd phase of KP LG elections & LG elections across Pak. Insha Allah PTI will come out stronger.”

Speaking at his post-cabinet meeting press conference, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said the rise of “religious extremist” political parties such as the recently unbanned TLP and the JUI-F would ultimately harm the country.

The minister, however, said despite its defeat, the PTI was still the only “national party” in the country.

He claimed that the recently-concluded local bodies polls in KP did not come under discussion in the cabinet meeting, adding that the prime minister would soon call a meeting of the PTI’s core committee to discuss the recently-held elections.

The JUI-F managed to grab the highest number of mayor/chairman seats in the elections on Sunday.

According to provisional results of the 39 tehsils out of 63 declared by the Election Commission of Pakistan, the JUI-F not only won 15 seats of mayor/chairman but also gave a tough fight in many other tehsils where its candidates were runners-up.

In the provincial capital, the JUI-F stunned the PTI and has a definitive lead in the contest for the mayor of Peshawar city.

JUI-F candidate Haji Zubair Ali secured 62,388 votes against 50,659 votes won by PTI’s Rizwan Bangash.

Of the remaining six tehsil chairman seats of Peshawar, the JUI-F managed to clinch four while the PTI could bag one seat.

Earlier, Fawad Chaudhry tried to skip the issue of PTI’s defeat in the LG elections but after back-to-back queries from reporters on the matter, the minister gave reasons of the ruling party’s failure.

“When three to four candidates from the same party contest the polls in the same constituency, they will [inevitably] lose the election. This is what happened in most areas,” he said, adding that the party’s MNAs and MPAs were also not happy.

“Each constituency needs to be managed, and we lost most of the contests due to mismanagement,” he added.

However, “this just proves that the PTI is a national party while the rest are merely local parties”, the minister said, adding that “if the PTI did not exist, there would be no national party in the country”.

Talking about the JUI-F, Mr Chaudhry said the party had ruined education and finance sectors in KP in 2002.

“It is unfortunate that, due to our mistakes, such a political party has been noticed [by the people],” he said, adding that the rise of “religious extremist parties” such as the TLP and JUI-F would ultimately harm the country.

The minister said the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) no longer had any standing in the political arena.

“Pakistan will be affected if the PTI faces setbacks and such ‘political dwarfs’ get the chance to step into the limelight,” Mr Chaudhry said.

He also called on PTI leaders to strengthen party chief Imran Khan, saying that “without Imran Khan, politics in Pakistan will scatter into pieces”.

The minister said he was “disappointed” at the fact that the JUI-F had bagged the highest number of seats in the first phase of the local government elections in KP but expressed the hope that the party’s leadership would learn from the current situation.

“Such parties are a sign of a retrogressive society and a sign that things in the country are not fine. It is not a reassuring thing for society when people who are against women’s rights, against [basic] freedoms [...] come into power,” he said, terming JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s coming into power “unfortunate”.

“In such a situation, PTI leadership and workers should put aside their personal differences and organise themselves under the leadership of PM Khan. At this time if PTI becomes weak, the country will fall into the trap of those having evil designs,” he said.

Responding to a query about the recent remarks made by former president and PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari in which he apparently asked the establishment to remove the current government and give his party [PPP] a chance, Mr Chaudhry said: “Zardari’s remarks hinted that no deal has so far taken place and he [Zardari] was seeking establishment’s help.”

Published in Dawn, December 22nd, 2021