RAWALPINDI: Roadside membership camps for the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) vanished shortly after party chairman Imran Khan wrapped up his tour of the garrison city.

Local PTI MPAs have insisted that the camps have been moved to offices because of the length process of verifying prospective members and entering their official data, but party supporters seeking membership and old workers have said the party has not formally announced the move and they were unaware of the offices where membership cards are being issued.

The PTI had set up 10 membership camps on Murree Road on April 8. According a senior party leader, the camps were not set up for a membership drive but to advertise the names and photos of party ticket aspirants for the upcoming elections.

Party leaders say membership camps moved to offices while workers claim ignorance of the move

“In the 2013 general election, the PTI was organised and everything was managed by senior leaders.

“But for the last few years, the party in the district was headless, local chapters were divided into at least three groups in all four districts of the Rawalpindi division and the leaders of these groups were not interested in investing in membership drive camps further,” he said.

The party leader said local office bearers felt that the party had not provided any funding for the establishment of membership camps.

It was instead the duty of candidates who want party tickets to set up camps at their own expense.

Meanwhile, prospective candidates were of the view that party MPAs and local office bearers should establish the camps.

“Due to the tussle, membership camps were set up on main roads and in city squares.

“The party in the district is a divided house, and local leaders are busy with their own camps instead of for the party,” the party leader said.

When contacted, PTI MPA Arif Abbasi said the camps had been opened in offices, and people could register and submit their verification forms for memberships to their local leaders.

However, Mr Abbasi was unable to provide an exact number of people who registered as party members in the last week.

“We registered hundreds of new members. It is difficult to count, as queues were visible outside local leaders’ party offices,” he said.

PTI MPA Ijaz Khan Jazi, who is also the party’s city president, told Dawn the PTI had made district office bearers responsible for registering new members. He said provincial assembly members were in Lahore to prepare for the public meeting in the city next week, which was why the district chapter was looking after the membership drive.

He said MPAs were not responsible for launching the drive, but did recommend new members to the party if contacted.

A former PTI candidate in NA-52, Col Ajmal Sabir, said the candidates were running their campaigns in their respective areas, while the membership drive was the responsibility of local office bearers.

But party workers have said there are no camps in the city or cantonment areas.

“If the party’s office bearers and local leaders will show such seriousness, the party’s results in the 2018 elections [will be like its results] in the 2015 local government elections, when not a single seat was won from the cantonment areas,” senior party worker Mohammad Shahid from Chaklala Scheme III said.

Defence Housing Authority resident Waqas Malik said he and his friends wanted to join the party but did not know how to become members.

“We talked to local leaders, and they were also unaware. Former party candidates from the cantonment areas refused to help us in this regard,” he claimed.

People are curious about the camps, said Amarpura resident Waqar Shah, but most people are unaware of them. Mr Shah also said there had been no online membership drive on social media so far.

Published in Dawn, April 16th, 2018