KOHAT: Hundreds of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf workers staged a protest and signed a banner inscribed with slogans against award of party ticket to former law minister Imtiaz Shahid Qureshi for PK-81, Shakardarra.

A local PTI leader Said Nazir told this correspondent on Wednesday that about 400 protesters after reaching Shakardarra from Banigala elaborated that they told party chief Imran Khan that it was injustice with the people of the area and PTI workers who would not run Mr Qureshi’s election campaign.

They also pointed out that the award of party ticket was being delayed to retired Lt-Gen Iftikhar Hussain Shah, expressing apprehensions that if the team of parliamentary board was allowed to contest the PTI would lose the elections.

Carrying banners inscribed with slogans that Mr Qureshi was not acceptable to them the protesters said that the former minister had not completed a single development project in his constituency despite receiving huge amount of royalty funds during last five years. They claimed that Mr Qureshi could not win the elections.

They asked Imran Khan to withdraw the ticket to Mr Qureshi and award it to an honest party activist from the area. Mr Nazir said that the protesters met Imran Khan in Banigala after hours long stay. He quoted Imran Khan as saying to the protesters that the parliamentary board’s decision could not be changed. However, he later sought three-day time to address their reservations.

Published in Dawn, June 21st, 2018