In response to the incarceration of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, his party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), has established special committees to devise strategies for government formation at the Centre, Punjab, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces. During a core committee meeting, participants agreed to expedite the nomination process for key government and parliamentary positions based on the recommendations and strategies proposed by these committees, as reported by Dawn News on February 12.
Following allegations of rigging in the recently concluded February 8 elections, where independent candidates supported by PTI secured 101 out of 266 National Assembly seats, the party is now planning to form governments in these crucial regions. The PTI-backed candidates contested as independents due to the controversy surrounding the party’s election symbol, ‘bat,’ which it lost following intra-party disputes.
The party’s core committee statement affirmed its commitment to preventing the transfer of leadership to individuals with criminal backgrounds and emphasized the mandate given by the people to Imran Khan. Additionally, PTI leaders met with President Arif Alvi to discuss alleged irregularities during the elections. The president was briefed on the party’s stance, with PTI leaders emphasizing that Form-45 accurately reflected the electoral outcomes despite pressure, symbol confiscation, and arrests.
The PTI claimed to have been leading with 170 National Assembly seats before alleged rigging shifted the tide in favor of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party. With nearly 47% of approximately 129 million voters casting their ballots, the elections aimed to address Pakistan’s financial challenges.
