PTI lost over 80 seats due to 'flawed decisions': Sher Afzal Marwat

Marwat spoke about two "wrong decisions" that he believed resulted in PTI losing reserved seats after the elections held on February 8.

Senior Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Sher Afzal Marwat said his party lost more than 80 seats in the national and provincial assemblies due to its own "flawed decisions," Pakistan-based Geo News reported. Speaking on Geo News' programme 'Shahzeb Khanzada Ke Saath' on Thursday, Marwat spoke about two 'wrong decisions' that he believed resulted in PTI losing reserved seats after the elections held on February 8.

Marwat stated that PTI's decision to withdraw from forming an electoral alliance with Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Shirani (JUI-Shirani) and later striking a deal with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-Nazriati (PTI-N) caused a major blow to the party. "There is a question mark over who brought in the batsman [electoral symbol of PTI-N] and cancelled the [deal] with Sherani sb," Geo News quoted him as saying.

He stressed that an inquiry should be carried out at the party level to fix the responsibility for the wrong moves. "Had these decisions not been made, we would not have been deprived of the electoral symbol," Marwat said, adding that the PTI candidates could have fought elections on the JUI-S platform even after losing the electoral symbol 'bat'.

Before the February 8 elections, PTI lost its electoral symbol as the Election Commission of Pakistan said its intra-party polls were not in compliance with the laws, while the Supreme Court upheld the electoral body's decision, as per the Geo News report. Sher Afzal Marwat called PTI's decision to ally with Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) to secure reserved seats the second mistake of the Imran Khan-founded party.

Marwat stressed that his party had to ally with the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) as they started receiving threats of making an electoral alliance with MWM. He said, "Due to these flawed decisions, we lost over 80 seats," Geo News reported. Pakistan held its 12th national general election on February 8, amid allegations of rigging and the shutdown of cellular and internet services.

On March 10, police apprehended several Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) supporters and leaders amid protests in different parts of Pakistan over the alleged rigging in general elections, The News International reported. Imran Khan's party leaders, including Latif Khosa and Salman Akram Raja, were apprehended after the supporters and activists took to the streets across the country, with rallies being held in Rawalpindi along with protests in Karachi, Kandhkot, Tank, and other cities.

Protests were held on the call of PTI founder Imran Khan against the "manipulation of election results and stealing" of the PTI's mandate in the recent elections. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister has demanded a judicial commission to probe the tempering of election results. In Lahore, police arrested several protesting PTI workers from GPO Chowk as authorities deployed a heavy contingent of police on the city's Mall Road and other areas. During the protests, PTI-backed Punjab Assembly lawmakers Hafiz Farhat Abbas and Mian Haroon Akbar were also arrested by the police. PTI leaders Latif Khosa and Salman Akram Raja were also arrested in Lahore.

PTI ticket holders and senior politician Javed Hashmi's son-in-law and grandson, Zahid Hashmi and Qasim Hashmi, were arrested in Multan, The News International reported. In Rawalpindi, PTI workers and the paramilitary forces came face-to-face after a demonstration rally led by Seemabia Tahir was prevented from entering the city via the Khanna Pul route. The police also apprehended some party workers, who were later "freed" by Tahir. (ANI)

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