MANSEHRA, April 5: Enraged workers of Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf attacked and manhandled the party’s central vice-president Azam Khan Swati here on Friday, allegedly over allotment of election tickets to his blue-eyed persons.

The incident occurred during a party meeting at a local hotel here when former UC nazim Khalid Khan and his supporters attacked Mr Swati shortly before his announcing names of PTI candidates for PK-55 and PK-53.

The police, who reached the venue soon after the incident, whisked Mr Swati out of the meeting.

Later, Mr Khalid alleged that Mr Swati wanted to withdraw ticket allotted by the party’s parliamentary board to Sajid Mumtaz Khan and give it to a newcomer in the party, Saboor Khan.

He said that Mr Swati also spoke against the PTI candidate for NA-21 Nawabzada Salahuddin Saeed in the meeting as his brother Laiq Mohammad Khan was contesting election from the same constituency.

Mr Swati could not be reached on his cell phone despite repeated attempts.

However, his secretary Mohammad Tufail said that nothing serious had happened in the meeting except that Mr Khalid was enraged at the party’s decision of allotting tickets to certain contenders.

Mr Tufail claimed that the PTI would win election in almost all constituencies in the district and that some people were creating troubles for it.

He said that the party’s parliamentary board was authorised to issue tickets to any applicant and Mr Swati had no role in this regard.