ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) has decided to step up its mass contact campaign on the Panamagate issue and hold public meetings in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the next few weeks.

The decision was taken by the party’s political strategy committee, chaired by PTI general secretary Jahangir Tareen, on Tuesday.

Senior party leaders Ishaq Khakwani, Atif Khan, Amir Kiani, Shah Farman and Ali Amin Gandapur attended the meeting alongside the party’s regional presidents, who had been invited to get their input on the party’s future plan.

Party determined to keep Panamagate case alive

Sources said the committee had prepared a tentative plan to hold at least three large public meetings in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. However, the committee had decided not to make public the plan before its approval by PTI chairman Imran Khan.

They said that the PTI has, for the time being, decided to focus only on Punjab, particularly areas considered to be strongholds of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).

Mr Khan had earlier addressed a public meeting in Swabi on Sunday.

An official handout issued later quoted Jahangir Tareen to have stated that the PTI would not let the prime minister evade accountability.

Mr Tareen regretted that the prime minister had wasted eight months running away from the accountability process. He alleged that the PM had lied before the parliament and the Supreme Court to hide his corruption.

When contacted, Mr Khakwani confirmed that the PTI would soon hold public meetings in major cities of the two provinces to keep the Panamagate issue alive.

He said the ruling party had hoped that the people would forget about the Panamagate scam.

However, the PTI would foil their attempts to stall the accountability process, he said. The party leader confirmed that Mr Khan would make the final decision regarding the schedule and venue of the public meetings.

When asked why Mr Khan had been asked to make the final call, Mr Khakwani said the party chairperson had experience in the matter.

He said for example Mr Khan had suggested the public meeting at Raiwind. Although the PTI had initially received criticism for that decision, later it was evident that the Panamagate protest had gained traction after that meeting.

Talking to reporters after the party’s core committee meeting on Monday, Mr Khan urged the Supreme Court to constitute a new bench and hold hearings on the Panamagate case on a daily basis.

Meanwhile, members of the PTI’s disciplinary committee on Tuesday directed the party’s leadership in Punjab to inform the central body about party discipline violations in the recently-held local government elections so that they could take action.

The PTI chairman has already suspended basic membership of over two dozen party activists, including an MPA from Mianwali, after getting reports that they had openly supported PML-N candidates in the last phase of the local government elections last week.

Published in Dawn, December 28th, 2016