Imran Khan PTI leaders
PTI Chairman Imran Khan has responded to criticism from within the party and worker protests outside his residence in Zaman Park regarding the denial of election tickets to heavyweight candidates for upcoming Punjab elections.
To address the issue, Khan has added Vice President Shah Mehmood Qureshi and General Secretary Asad Umar to the committee that will review complaints from those who were not selected for candidacy. The list of selected candidates was announced on April 20 after Khan personally interviewed aspirants to ensure that party tickets were awarded based on merit. Imran Khan
Some senior PTI leaders, including Fawad Chaudhry, Qureshi, Hammad Azhar, and Shahbaz Gill, were not selected for candidacy. The review process will start today and continue until April 26, and the general elections in the province are scheduled for May 14, as ordered by the Supreme Court to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). According to sources, the PTI chairman plans to include seasoned politicians in the review committee to appease unhappy aspirants.
On Thursday, the PTI established a committee composed of Musaddiq Abbasi, Ijaz Chaudhary, Rai Hassan Nawaz, and Aoon Abbas to address objections to the distribution of election tickets.Imran Khan
Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi
Earlier this week, the party released a list of 297 candidates for the upcoming elections in Punjab, including Raja Basharat, Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, Usmar Dar, Dr Yasmin Rashid, Hashim Dogar, Zain Qureshi, and Usman Buzdar, as announced on the PTI’s website. Despite being the only major party to have begun the electoral process, several senior party leaders were excluded from contesting the elections in Punjab, sparking discontent among supporters and workers. Imran Khan
The party chief denied Fawad Chaudhry, the Senior Vice President, and Shah Mehmood Qureshi the opportunity to become the Punjab chief minister by not awarding them provincial assembly tickets. Fawad expressed his frustration over the denial of the ticket on a private news channel earlier this week. Imran Khan
The recommendation made was that the public announcement of the name of the chief minister’s candidate, whether it is Sardar Usman Buzdar or another individual, should be determined. by the party chairman.Imran Khan
Who has been awarded tickets?
The PTI has distributed party tickets for Lahore, which is known as the stronghold of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), along with other districts of Punjab.
The surprise exclusion this time is former provincial minister Dr. Murad Raas, who is related to Hamza Shehbaz. However, he could still be a candidate for the National Assembly elections. Meanwhile, former ticket-holders of NA seats Dr. Yasmin Rashid and Ghulam Mohiud Din Diwan will be running as provincial assembly candidates.
PTI pioneer member Yasir Gilani, Asif Bhinder, Abdul Kareem Khan, Mian Aslam Iqbal, Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed, Sarfaraz Khokhar, and Malik Nadeem Bara are also among those awarded party tickets for various constituencies in Lahore.Imran Khan
In addition to other districts in Punjab, the PTI has awarded party tickets to candidates from Lahore, which is known to be a stronghold of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). A significant surprise is that former provincial minister Dr Murad Raas, a close relative of Hamza Shehbaz, has not received a ticket for the provincial assembly seat. However, he might be selected as the party’s choice for the National Assembly elections, while two former ticket-holders of NA seats, Dr Yasmin Rashid and Ghulam Mohiud Din Diwan, have been nominated as provincial assembly candidates.
Dr Yasmin Rashid, who contested the 2013, 2017 by-polls and 2018 general elections on the NA seat, has been selected from PP-173, and Diwan Ghulam Mohiud Din, a former PTI ticket-holder from NA-124, has been fielded from PP-147. Pioneer member of PTI Yasir Gilani has been awarded a ticket from PP-144, Asif Bhinder has been awarded a ticket from PP-145, and Abdul Kareem Khan from PP-148.
Furthermore, Mian Akram Usman, who won the last by-election held on the seat vacated by Abdul Aleem Khan, has also been awarded a ticket from PP-169, and Khalid Gujjar has been awarded a ticket from PP-165. Chaudhry Muhammad Mansha Sindhu, who has served as a Member of Provincial Assembly (MPA) three times, has been nominated as a candidate from PP-163. Notably, Shabbir Gujjar and Zaheer Abbas Khokhar, both former PTI ticket-holders and winners of July 2022, have not been awarded a ticket, and Barrister Hammad Azhar has also not been given a ticket, but he is likely to be the party’s choice for the National Assembly seat he won in 2018.
Among the other candidates who have been awarded party tickets according to the PTI list are Azam Khan Niazi (PP-159), Zubair Niazi (PP-172), Mehr Wajid Azeem (PP-171), Haider Majeed (PP-160), Ammar Bashir Gujjar (PP-161), Ahmar Bhatti (PP-164), Khalid Gujjer (PP-165), former Vice Chairman WASA Sheikh Imtiaz (PP-155), and former TEVTA chairman Hafiz Farhat (PP-157).