LAHORE - PTI senior leader Chaudhary Sarwar has declined to head the inquiry committee constituted by the party chairman to probe into the procedure of award of party tickets for local bodies’ polls of Cantonment Boards that led to party’s poor performance in the said elections.
PTI chairman Imran Khan on May 1 had formed an inquiry committee to investigate the procedure of award of party tickets for local bodies’ polls of Cantonment Boards, especially in Punjab. The committee was directed to especially probe party’s defeat in the Districts of Lahore, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Sargodha and Sialkot.
Chaudhary Sarwar in a chat with The Nation on Sunday said, “I have declined to head the inquiry committee because I am new in the party and not familiar with ticket awarding system and other matters. It will be better that some old party leader will be given this task.” There is other reason for not accepting the responsibility of the inquiry committee, he added.
However, some party sources claimed: Chaudhary Sarwar declined to accept the responsibility as he doesn’t want to involve himself in any fight or controversy with the old leadership in an effort to consolidate his position in the party.
Sarwar when asked about this claim, he said, “I don’t believe in appeasing someone on the cost merit. I declined to act as the chief of the inquiry committee following the reasons I have already mentioned. I would not spare anyone even in the party if he has done any wrong during the award of party ticket if I have decided to take the responsibility.”
The new PTI leader who is also making plans to launch a campaign against the death sentence of Dr Mohammad Morsi sharing some details told this correspondent that he would launch a campaign under the title of “Save Morsi” in an effort to stop a judicial murder.
He said that he would write letters to the British Parliament members and members of the European Union to build public opinion against the death sentence of Dr Morsi.
Sarwar said that he had launched a campaign to save the former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto from judicial murder back in the late 70s and also organised drive against Bosnian Muslims genocide.
About launching the Morsi campaign from party platform, he said that it would be decided by the party’s core committee, as he was announcing launching this drive in his personal capacity at this moment.
When asked if the party decides otherwise, Sarwar said that he would launch the campaign anyway, as he has personal contacts abroad to pursue this cause.
Meanwhile, PTI Punjab president, Ijaz Chaudhary in a consultative meeting of District Gujranwala announced that Nasir Cheema would be the party candidate for PP-97 re-election.
An election tribunal had declared null and void the election of MPA Muhammad Ashraf Warraich won PP-97 in the result of 2013 general elections and ordered re-election in 33 polling stations of the said constituency.
Muhammad Ashraf Warraich was the candidate of PML-N. The decision was taken in response to a petition filed by PML-Q leader Nasir Cheema who also contended for the same seat. Nasir Cheema later joined the PTI.
According to the results 2013 polls in this constituency the winner, Muhammad Ashraf Warraich secured 26620 votes, while the runner up Nasir Cheema bagged 24231 ballots.