ISLAMABAD: The ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) has decided to organise a convention of its office-bearers from central Punjab at the Minar-i-Pakistan in Lahore on Feb 23 to mark the completion of the party’s reorganisation process.

A party spokesman on Tuesday announced that the party had completed the reorganisation process from the region and division level down to the union council level and all the new office-bearers would assemble at the historic monument for an oath-taking ceremony.

The spokesman, however, said that Prime Minister Imran Khan, who is also chairman of the PTI, would not attend the convention and party’s chief organiser Saifullah Khan Niazi would not only administer the oath to nearly 11,000 office-bearers, but also make a speech outlining party policy and guidelines.

He said PTI’s central Punjab region president Ijaz Chaudhry was supervising the arrangements for the convention and he had already finalised the plan.

He said special teams had also been constituted for the arrangements of the convention and guidance of the new office-bearers.

The spokesman said the party planned to hold similar conventions in other parts of the country after completion of the reorganisation process in line with the new constitution of the party finalised last year.

In June last year, the PTI had dissolved all its organisations, structures, wings and sub-organisations to pave the way for the formation of new bodies in line with the party’s constitution approved by its National Council on the occasion of the party’s foundation day ceremony held on May 1 last year in Islamabad which was also attended by the prime minister.

All office-bearers of the party, except chairman Khan, vice chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi and five others, including Mr Niazi, had ceased to hold office.

Under the new constitution, uniformity had been brought in the structure of the party. Previously, the presidents had the powers to make decisions, but under the new system, the committees would be formed at all levels for decision-making and devising policies.

The PTI expects to hold intra-party elections under the new constitution next year.

Published in Dawn, February 19th, 2020