Imran Khan to contest by-elections on all 33 NA seats: Qureshi

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) vice-chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on Sunday that party chief Imran Khan will contest by-elections on 33 National Assembly seats, on which the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had announced by-polls earlier this week, Aaj News reported.

The seats had fallen vacant earlier this month when NA Speaker Raja Parvez Ashraf accepted the resignations of PTI lawmakers and Awami Muslim League chief Sheikh Rashid.

The PTI resigned en masse in April last year after the ouster of Imran as the prime minister, but only 11 resignations were accepted in July.

Later, as the party tried to stage a comeback to the house, the speaker began accepting their resignations — and in a couple of days, he accepted 113 more, including the 33.

In October last year, the PTI chief set a new record and won six NA seats in the by-elections held on eight National Assembly seats.

“The matter was deliberated upon in detail during the core committee’s meeting today,” Qureshi said while answering a question during his press talk in Lahore.

“It was decided that Imran Khan will be contesting elections in all 33 NA seats,” he said, adding that their former MNAs from respective constituencies will file nomination papers as “covering candidates.”

He said the PTI will not leave the field open for the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) parties and will contest elections with full might.

Presenting two of the four resolutions passed by senior members of the party, Qureshi said that any delay in the by-elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) provinces will be a clear violation of the Constitution of Pakistan, and will be punishable under Article 6

He said the government was planning unconstitutional ways to delay the elections in both provinces.

"The PTI will not tolerate even an hour's delay in the elections. The party has decided to take all constitutional routes to ensure the elections take place in time," Qureshi said, urging the judiciary to take action in this regard.

The former foreign minister said that the ruling coalition was "afraid" of holding elections in both provinces. "Political engineering is being done through the National Assembly by-elections."

He also lamented the treatment meted out to Fawad Chaudhry, saying his remand was extended thrice without any justification in “an absurd case.” He urged the Chief Justice of Pakistan to take action on the blatant violation of the law.

Earlier, PTI chief Imran Khan chaired the party's core committee and senior members' meeting at his Zaman Park residence in Lahore.