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PTI closes down major offices in Lahore

UmarJustice

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A prominent faction of PTI closed down major party offices in the provincial capital as part of their move to cut down monetary support to the party after failing to make some foothold in Punjab Assembly and Parliament with defeat of their candidates in May elections. The PTI faction led by its city chapter president has closed down party’s grand office at The Mall, besides stopping financial support to party’s central media cell situated at Cavalry Ground, which was finally shut down a few days back. Another group, which is headed by party’s former president Lahore, has turned the national campaign office in Muslim Town into Punjab Assembly opposition leader’s party secretariat. After the closure of PTI central media cell Punjab, the central media was shifted to party’s provincial secretariat in Model Town. Also, PTI president Lahore has shifted his political front to his personal business office in Gulberg. The City chapter president who is believed to be the major financer of party activities in the provincial capital is now only financing the office of party’s vice-chairman at Shami Road. He stopped major financing to party activities, besides closing down two offices after the defeat of his group members in 2013 general elections. Party sources in City chapter president camp told this correspondent on Thursday that party’s Lahore president who has had major investors on his side from the land developing business after getting a dark corner in the result of their group candidates defeat in 2013 polls had decided to take a backslide and hold back their investments for a while. They added that Lahore president camp would wait for the opening of next political opportunity to reinvest, which he and his associates believe will open with the announcement regarding conduct of local bodies’ polls and till that time they would not make any major investment in party activities. The City chapter president who runs a huge land developing business came under severe criticism from party’s old guard during the intra-party polls for buying the loyalties of the members of his opposite camp. The party chairman also distanced himself from the provincial metropolis president after his mismanagement of second show of PTI at Minar-e-Pakistan before the general polls and failing to organize a successful election campaign in the provincial capital for 2013 polls. A founding party leader commenting over the issue said, “The foundations of the party are damaged by the entry of various interest groups and unfortunately the City chapter president belongs to one of these groups; however the PTI voter has rejected the investor-minded element in the general elections and would do the same in the next polls.” He said, “Closure of few party offices financed by these opportunists would not slow down the party operations in the City; it is good for the party that the very actions of the opportunist or investor class have exposed them among the party men.” Meanwhile, PTI chairman, Imran Khan in a bid to address party men complaints regarding financial corruption during the award of party tickets for 2013 elections, has constituted a commission under the command of party leader, Tasnim Noorani, to investigate the matters pertaining to corruption in award of tickets for national and provincial assemblies. The members who would assist Tasnim include Ahmed Awais and Fariddudin Ahmed. The committee after completing its report on the matter will submit it to the party chairman for further action.

PTI closes down major offices in Lahore
 
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PTI supporters still do not understand what happened in the recent elections --
 
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They are cutting off the excess financials in order to maintain proper balance. Current concern is only the KPK.
 
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It is only natural to scale back after the hectic electoral activity. Plus there is of course intra-party rivalry at work. In short, nothing extra-ordinary to merit a thread by itself.

The bigger story of course is that this last election was not an ideological contest. There was hardly any political right or left to note. No Republicanism vs democratic thought, or anything like that. This ought to trouble PTI supporters. I suspect that in the coming years PTI would have to define itself and place itself on the political spectrum. Few parties can cover a wide spectrum like ANC of South Africa. No party can be everything to everybody. In the process of defining itself ideologically, many people would leave PTI and many would join.

In the coming years expect noises from political left about growing disparity between rich and poor. PTI should have moved to the political left to occupy space vacated by PPP. Instead of doing that, IK decided to focus on other transient issues. Even now somebody ought to shake him up and make him realize that harping about election process is a waste of time now. Protest was effectively registered, now it is time to tackle the difficult task of building party on strong foundations without being dogmatic or defining stances precisely (to keep flexibility at hand).
 
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