PTI has also cited arrests of political workers, restrictions on media coverage
ISLAMABAD:
PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan on Monday indicated that the party may reconsider its decision to boycott the upcoming Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly elections if a level playing field is ensured and its leaders and workers are not subjected to arrests or repression.
Addressing reporters, Gohar said the boycott decision had been taken after consultations with the party’s parliamentary wing, its allies and the PTI leadership in AJK. He said the absence of a free political environment had left the party with no other option.
“PTI was forced to boycott AJK elections, but in politics nothing is final. If we get a free and conducive environment, we can reconsider the boycott decision,” he said.
He said PTI believed in democracy and described the boycott as a difficult decision, adding that the party could return to the election process if its leaders and workers were spared arrests and repression.
The remarks came four days after the PTI formally announced that it would not contest the AJK Legislative Assembly elections scheduled for July 27.
The party’s regional president and former AJK prime minister, Sardar Abdul Qayyum Niazi, had said the decision was taken in solidarity with the people of the region amid what the party described as a deepening political and humanitarian crisis and “was not a political strategy.”
The boycott followed weeks of unrest in AJK after the government banned the Joint Awami Action Committee (Jaac) under anti-terrorism laws.
Jaac has continued to protest despite the ban, while clashes between protesters and security forces have left several people dead, with authorities and the group giving differing accounts of casualties.
The PTI has also cited the arrests of political workers, restrictions on media coverage and disruption of supply lines from Punjab as reasons why the upcoming election cannot be considered credible under the prevailing circumstances.
The party has suspended all recommendations regarding ticket distribution to its AJK candidates pending a review of the situation.
Meanwhile, PTI’s legal status in AJK also remains unclear. The AJK High Court had earlier restored the party’s registration and ordered the reinstatement of its election symbol, the bat, after the AJK Election Commission moved to revoke it.
The Electoral Commission subsequently contested the High Court ruling before the AJK Supreme Court, which on 3 July adjourned the hearing of the case. As the court’s summer vacation continues until October 7, the case is unlikely to be decided before election day.
