PESHAWAR: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has appointed Dr Haider Ali as election commissioner in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa to conduct party polls in the province. Haider, an MPA, had been appointed to the post on May 19, but a formal announcement was made on Sunday, as per the party press release.
Also on May 19, the party had appointed Iftikhar Farooqi and Mir Nasarullah Rind as election commissioners for Sindh and Balochistan respectively.
On May 13, party chief Imran Khan had announced intra-party election to be held on June 11, 2017. Then on May 16, Khan appointed Senator Azam Swati as the party’s Chief Election Commissioner and directed office-bearers to expidite preparations for party polls in all provinces.
Talking to local media outlet, Head of Central Media Department of PTI Iftikhar Durani said that preparations for the party elections had begun in earnest. He added that the elections could not be held on time because the party was busy protesting against the PML-N over the ‘rigging’ in election 2013, and then over the Panama Papers case.
Commenting on the appointment of Azam Swati as PTI’s Chief Election Commissioner, Durrani said he had been cleared of all allegations, adding that the party had full confidence in him.
On September 2, 2015, the PTI’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chapter had served notices on Swati and other PTI office-bearers over alleged violation of party discipline and warned that if they were found to be working against the party’s policy, their membership could be cancelled.
