LAHORE: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) is facing fissures in its ranks in Lahore as many known, diehard and loyal workers have been ignored while the new entrants have grabbed party tickets.

Most of those who have been left out blame party’s central Punjab president Abdul Aleem Khan for creating groups within the party. Mr Khan himself is contesting from NA-129 as well as from PP-158 and PP-162.

The PTI parliamentary board is yet to decide party candidates for the NA-123 constituency and nine Punjab Assembly constituencies – PP-145, PP-153, PP-161, PP-163, PP-164, PP-166, PP-167, PP-168, PP-169.

PTI’s Waleed Iqbal has been denied ticket to contest the next general election. Mr Iqbal had contested the 2013 general election from NA-124 and had been party’s Lahore urban president.

Waleed Iqbal’s relations with Aleem Khan had gone sour after the latter’s supporters had protested and chanted slogans against Waleed for not inviting Mr Khan at a Quaid-i-Azam Day event at Aiwan-i-Iqbal.

Besides Waleed Iqbal, it is learnt, leaders like Advocate Hamid Khan, Hamid Zaman, Hafiz Farhat, Dr Shahid Siddique Khan, Hafiz Younas, Malik Waqar and Irshad Dogar have been ignored.

Some diehard workers say “some elements” have entered the party and won its ticket to contest the next election. Nauman Qaiser has been given party ticket for NA-124 (Lahore-II), Jamshed Iqbal Cheema has been elevated to NA-127 (Lahore-V), Chaudhry Ijaz Ahmad Dayal has been accommodated in NA-128 (Lahore-VI), Malik Zaheer Abbas has been elevated to NA-134 (Lahore-XII) and Malik Asad Ali granted ticket to contest election from NA-136 (Lahore-XIV).

Party’s stalwart Dr Yasmin

Rashid is contesting from NA-125 (Lahore-III), Hammad Azhar from NA-126 (Lahore-IV), Abdul Aleem Khan from NA-129 (Lahore-VII), Shafqat Mahmood from NA-130 (Lahore-VIII) and party chairman Imran Khan from NA-131 (Lahore-XI).

Dr Shahid Siddique Khan says he has been a party worker since its inception and contested the 2002 and 2008 elections and had earned big votes. Urging the party chairman to give him a chance, he says he fulfills all requirements to become a party’s strong candidate to be fielded in NA-123. He has, however, also filed his papers from PP-161.

Published in Dawn, June 11th, 2018