ISLAMABAD: The core committee of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) held a long meeting on Tuesday on modalities for its participation in the incoming Senate elections.

Some party leaders, according one participant of the meeting, expressed their reservations over the party’s decision to contest elections for the upper house of parliament only from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and boycott from the rest of the three provincial and national assemblies.

However, the meeting, which took place at the PTI chairman Imran Khan’s Banni Gala residence from 3 pm to 7:30pm, decided to contest Senate elections.

The PTI hopes to win five to six Senate seats from the KP.

According to the participant, a board comprising senior members of the party will conduct the scrutiny of applicants. The committee, according to a second member of the party, also decided that all its potential Senators should come from the KP. Earlier, there were suggestions that since the party will not take part in elections from Punjab and Sindh, party leaders from these provinces should also be accommodated in Senate.

People with proven track records in their respective fields will be sent to Senate, a member of the core committee told Dawn.

Ongoing stand-off with the government over the formation of an election inquiry judicial commission, also came up for deliberations during the meeting. The meeting agreed that the party should re-energise its campaign against the ruling PML-N for its alleged involvement in rigging in the last general elections.

Published in Dawn, February 4th, 2015

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