RAWALPINDI: Pakistan Tehreek-I-Insaf (PTI) election campaign in the garrison city fails to pick up pace as most of its candidates are underground and workers are running the show.

Besides, the party has not set up even main election office in the city which should coordinate the election campaign in three national assemblies and six provincial assemblies.

A senior party leader told Dawn that in the past elections, PTI Rawalpindi chapter main office was the centre of activities and it would coordinate all the electioneering of PTI candidates for national and provincial assemblies.

“In the past, the main election office had been established at Chandani Chowk on Murree Road where Imran Khan would visit to appreciate the workers but this time, the candidates are running their separate offices or planning to set up,” he said.

Party has not set up even main election offices in city

He said most of the candidates had to run their election campaign on social media or individually. “The candidates who had no police record are running the election campaign while workers are running door-to-door campaign for those who were struggling to get pre-arrest bail,” he said.

There is no plan to hold any worker convention or public meeting where all the candidate can show up their election symbols.

Former Punjab minister for law and parliamentary affairs and PTI candidate in NA-55 Raja Basharat is indicted in May 9 riots and in his absence the party could not establish office in the cantonment areas.

PTI candidate from PP-15 Ziad Khaliq Kiani was also nominated in May 9 cases and his bail was also rejected last week and he was not in public for the last three days.

In his absence, PTI youth wing is running the campaign in Lal Kurti and adjoining areas. His election office, too, was not established as yet.

“The workers are running my campaign and I will be active in the field to run door-to-door campaign after getting pre-arrest bail that has been applied in the Lahore High Court,” Zaid Khaliq Kiani told Dawn.

He said that there was no main office in the garrison city but the party workers had been running the campaign on social media. “The main office of NA-55 and PP-15 will soon be established,” he said.

PTI Rawalpindi’s main local leaders and candidates like former MPA Ijaz Khan Jazi, PTI City President Raja Nasir Mahfouz and others were hiding to avoid arrest in cases.

PTI candidate for NA-57 Seemabia Tahir also failed to start election campaign and establish her office.

On the other hand, in NA-56, PTI workers are active and launched the election campaign as its candidate for National Assembly is seen on the roads. The PTI candidate in NA-56 Shaheryar Riaz told Dawn that he had started his election campaign and set up office in Dhoke Ratta. Besides, two candidates for the provincial assemblies have also launched their campaign.

He said that he had started door-to-door election campaign and gave the message of PTI founder Imran Khan to vote for justice and development. He said that he was former district president of PTI from 2019 to 2021 and knew all the workers and supporters of the party.

He said PTI voters were being informed through social media about the party’s plan after the SC verdict taking away Batsymbol.

In the downtown area of the garrison city, PTI candidates for a National Assembly and two provincial assembly seats got same symbol as independent candidates.

In NA-56, PTI Candidate and former MPA Sheharyar Riaz got Tower, Former MPA Ijaz Khan Jazi, candidate for PP-16, got ‘Tower’ as election symbol and PP-17 candidate and former MPA Raja Rashid Hafeez also got ‘Tower’ symbol.

However, he admitted that at present there was no plan of public meeting in the garrison city, but they most likely to go for the meetin a few days before end of electioneering where all the candidates from the garrison city’s constituencies will address.

Published in Dawn, January 21st, 2024