'Unfortunate security situation': Imran Khan's party postpones organisational elections

Islamabad: The organisational elections of jailed former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan's party were postponed due to an 'unfortunate security situation created by the administration” and concerns raised by members, an official statement said on Friday.

With the country's general elections barely a week away, the 71-year-old former cricketer-turned-politician's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party had on Thursday announced fresh intra-party polls on February 5.

The party Chairman, Gohar Khan, announced the postponement of the organisational elections on the former prime minister's directives, asserting that the organisational polls can divert attention from next week's general elections, Geo News reported.

'Intra-party elections can divert the attention of candidates and voters from the general elections,' the report quoted the PTI chief.

In a notification issued on Friday, the party said that its internal polls would take place after the general elections, the Dawn newspaper reported.

It said that the intra-party elections were rescheduled due to the “unfortunate security situation created by the administration” and concerns raised by members.

This comes after police and security officials in plainclothes reportedly raided and took control of the party's central secretariat on Thursday and stopped members from entering the premises.

“At the time of holding the general body meeting of the PTI on January 31, the designated venue of the party where the meetings were set to take place and the entry of participants were unlawfully blocked by the administration, including sealing of the Islamabad office, thus forcing us to search for and confirm alternate places and seek legal remedies,” the statement said.

'While we are ready for holding intra-party elections on the basis of secret ballot through digital balloting, the arrangements for availability of alternate venues require additional time,” the report said, citing the statement.

It said that the holding of intra-party elections needs to be rescheduled, 'taking cognisance of the security situation created by the administration' and the requests from its members who said they were unable to find time to participate in the internal elections due to preparations for the February 8 general elections.

“They will now take place after the national elections on a date within the mandate and timeframe approved by the general body meeting. The amended schedule will be duly announced by the office of the Federal Election Commission shortly,” it said.

Former prime minister Imran's party held an intra-party election last year on the directions of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). However, its result, which some disgruntled PTI workers challenged, was annulled after a bitter court battle. Subsequently, the top electoral body deprived the party of its iconic cricket bat symbol.

The party has fielded independent candidates for the next week’s elections.

Incarcerated Imran and his party members have been facing numerous hurdles in Pakistan ahead of the general elections.

On Tuesday, top party leaders Imran and ex-foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi were sentenced to 10 years in prison by a special court for leaking sensitive state secrets. The former prime minister is already serving a three-year jail term after being convicted of corruption.

An accountability court sentenced Imran and his wife, Bushra Bibi, to 14 years of rigorous imprisonment in a corruption case on Wednesday. The couple was also barred from holding any public office for ten years and slapped with a fine of Rs 787 million each.