Imran Khan to run for 33 seats in NA by-polls

F.P. Report
LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Sunday said that Chairman PTI Imran Khan would contest in by-elections on 33 seats of National Assembly.
Talking to media men after the party’s core committee meeting he said that the party decided that PTI would participate in by-polls for the 33 seats.
Shah said that Chairman Imran Khan would be the party’s sole candidate on all 33 NA seats and lawmakers earlier elected on those seats would submit paperwork as “covering candidates”.
The NA seats had fallen vacant earlier this month when NA Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf accepted the resignations of PTI lawmakers and Awami Muslim League (AML) Chief Sheikh Rashid.
The PTI resigned en masse in April last year after the ouster of Imran Khan 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 Chairman PTI Imran Khan also set a record when he won six NA seats for the PTI in a by-election that was seen as a direct contest between the former ruling party and the current ruling coalition of the PDM parties, which also grabbed two seats.
“The PTI will remain on the political ground and seek the help of the masses. When the people got a chance in July last year, despite our opponents being in government, they ensured our mandate and [made] Imran Khan victorious,” Qureshi said.
“The nation will give a clear message on March 16: the nation completely trusts in the leadership of Imran Khan and it stands with the PTI. The people will also voice their reservations against the group that’s been imposed on us,” he added.