Pakistan: Former PM Imran Khan’s party PTI to declare candidates within 24 hours

The embattled Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, led by imprisoned former prime minister Imran Khan, declared on Monday that it would declare its candidates for the forthcoming February 8 election within the next 24 hours.

According to Senator Ali Zafar of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the party has confirmed 98–99% of the candidates running on PTI tickets, as reported by Geo News.

He said that only two percent of seats required a decision.

“The approval has been given on who will contest elections on which seat. The candidates will be announced today or tomorrow,” Zafar told the media.

In the meantime, the Istehkam Pakistan Party (IPP), Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), and PTI dissidents in Punjab are putting pressure on Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) to make accommodations for them.

However, the PTI has been claiming that it is being targeted and has been seeking fair play.

The cricket bat, which served as the previous ruling party’s election emblem, has also caused difficulties for them.

It has also filed a plea with the Supreme Court contesting the Peshawar High Court’s (PHC) ruling from January 3 that took away the party’s well-known election emblem.

The PHC overturned the stay order issued by its one-member bench on January 3 and upheld the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) ruling that the PTI’s intra-party polls were invalid.

Additionally, the PHC removed the PTI’s election symbol. However, the PTI appealed the decision to the highest court.

(With agency inputs)