ISLAMABAD: The top leadership of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) will be meeting here on Sunday to take a decision about the return of party members to assemblies and to discuss the strategy for the upcoming by-election for a National Assembly seat in Karachi.

PTI Chairman Imran Khan will preside over the meeting of his party’s core committee at his Bani Gala residence on Sunday afternoon — a day before a joint session of the parliament is scheduled to begin.

The session was convened by the government to discuss the crisis in Yemen.

Return of party’s members to assemblies and the Karachi by-election to be discussed

Background interviews with some PTI leaders has revealed that a majority of the party MPs want to go back to assembles after the promulgation of the presidential ordinance regarding the constitution of a judicial commission to probe alleged rigging in the 2013 general elections.

When contacted, the party’s MNA from Islamabad, Asad Umar, said that in one of its previous meetings the core committee had already decided that PTI legislators would return to assemblies after the setting up of the judicial commission and not upon mere promulgation of an ordinance regarding its formation.

However, because a special situation had arisen due to the Yemen crisis and the government had convened a joint sitting of the parliament, the party chairman had convened the meeting on Sunday, he said. “Otherwise, there was no need for even convening a meeting to discuss the issue of returning to the assemblies.”

Mr Umar said he had so far not seen the agenda of the meeting, but the MPs’ return to the assemblies and the Karachi by-election would definitely come under discussion at it.

The party’s MNAs and its MPAs in Punjab and Sindh assemblies had resigned from the legislatures in August at the peak of their protest sit-in against alleged rigging in the last general elections.

The sit-in continued for 126 days during which the party demanded resignation of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and formation of a judicial commission to probe the allegations. After several rounds of talks with the ruling PML-N, the PTI later withdrew its demand for the prime minister’s resignation.

Imran Khan called off the sit-in after a terrorist attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar in December last year.

A senior leader and a member of the PTI’s core committee said he personally believed that the party members should participate in the parliamentary proceedings after the promulgation of the ordinance. “I think we should go to assemblies as the government has fulfilled its commitment by issuing the ordinance,” he said.

The PTI leader said the party members should also take part in the parliamentary committee on electoral reforms after formation of the judicial commission.

KARACHI BY-ELECTION: The PTI chairman warned that if any PTI worker was harmed in Karachi, his party would implicate Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain in the case.

“(The) PTI has got a team of lawyers ready in London to press charges against Altaf, if any PTI member is harmed during NA-246 election campaign,” Mr Khan reportedly tweeted.

The PTI chief said that Mr Hussain “first terrorise(s) the hapless citizens of the city and then play(s) the victim”.

The NA-246 fell vacant last month after resignation of MNA Nabeel Gabol. The constituency is in the stronghold of the MQM.

The elections are being held in a tense atmosphere.

Through a video message, Mr Khan appealed to the people of Karachi to vote for his party’s candidate Imran Ismail in the April 23 by-election for NA-246 seat. He said it was “an opportunity for the people of Karachi to change their fortune”, asking the people to come out and participate in the polling.

The PTI chairman vowed to bring the people of Karachi out of the shadow of fear and to make Karachi the “city of lights” again. He added that the result of the by-election was not important for his party, but it would be crucial for the people of Karachi.

Published in Dawn, April 5th, 2015

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