Several Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers, including a party candidate from Lyari and its adjoining areas in 2013 general election, have expressed their disappointment with the distribution of tickets for various Karachi seats in the national and provincial assemblies.
Addressing a press conference at Karachi Press Club on Friday, PTI Karachi activists Subhan Ali Sahil, who polled 26,348 votes in the 2013 election, and Dawa Khan Sabir maintained that those sponsoring party leaders’ trips and paying for jalsas were preferred over ideological workers of the party.
They said tickets were awarded to those who sponsored trips made by PTI chairman Imran Khan, Dr Arif Alvi and Ali Zaidi.
“We are not going to leave the party but we will continue our protest until we persuade the leaders to put an end to injustice and nepotism,” Sahil said, while requesting the party chairman to take notice of the alienation of workers.
He alleged that Mehmmod Baqi Molvi, the party candidate for NA-255, was the main sponsor of the Karachi jalsa that was why he was given a ticket.
“Ali Zaidi is extracting monetary benefits out of him and in return he is promoting him within the party ranks,” he said further, adding that on the one hand Zaidi was demanding formation of the joint investigation team for Lyari gang war leader Uzair Baloch, while, on the other hand, he was introducing people with criminal record within the party ranks.
At the press conference, the disgruntled PTI activisits distributed a copy of a police report submitted in an anti-terrorism court detailing charges framed against the PTI candidates for NA-250, Attaullah, and PS-120, Saeed Khan Afridi. They said that both the men were court absconders.
Later, PTI workers went to the Insaf House Karachi where they staged a sit-in. “We will offer Namaz-e-Eid in front of Insaf House,” they said.
Published in Daily Times, June 16th 2018.