ISLAMABAD: Report of the inquiry commission constituted to investigate allegations that the last general elections had been rigged has not only dealt a blow to credibility of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) but also exposed fissures within its ranks.

Commenting on the report that rejected all the charges, senior Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf leader and lawyer Hamid Khan has blamed his party’s legal team for the fiasco.

Talking to Dawn on Sunday, he alleged that “the party has been hijacked by the remnants of the (government of) former military ruler Gen Pervez Musharraf”.

Take a look: Parliament watch: PTI in the shadow of the Judicial Commission’s report

He went on to claim that a conspiracy had been hatched to destroy the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf by the “forces of status quo”.

When asked to identify the people who, according to him, were behind the conspiracy, he named Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf general secretary Jahangir Tareen. “Don’t you know that he was a minister during the Musharraf regime?”

“The party has been hijacked by remnants of the (government) of former military ruler Gen Pervez Musharraf”

He alleged that his party’s chairman, Imran Khan, had not been advised properly by his team and it had agreed “on wrong terms of reference” for the inquiry commission.

Hamid Khan, who appeared unhappy with his party’s leadership for not consulting him over matters relating to the commission, said the reference prepared by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s legal team was ”wrong”.

Saying that agents of status quo had joined the party in a large number after October 2011, he vowed to revive the old Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf which comprised “ideological people” who wanted to bring about “real change”.

“We will Insha Allah cleanse the party of people who are damaging it under a conspiracy,” he said.

Meanwhile, the PTI chairman, in his messages on social media, praised senior lawyer Abdul Hafeez Pirzada and his team for their efforts during the proceedings of the commission.

“I want to thank Pirzada’s team, esp Sikandar, for their hard work and passion. I have the greatest respect and admiration for him and the heroic way in which he fought PTI’s case before the judicial commission.

“Thanks also go to our PTI lawyers and volunteers, esp Ishaq Khakwani, for putting in marathon hours of work with unflinching commitment,” he said in Twitter messages.

Hamid Khan was apparently sidelined by the party leadership during the days of its Islamabad sit-in last year when he had submitted an unconditional apology on behalf of Imran Khan in the Supreme Court during the hearing of a contempt of court case against the PTI chief Imran Khan later withdrew the apology.

No Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf office-bearer agreed to offer comments on Hamid Khan’s remarks.

Published in Dawn, July 27th, 2015

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