ISLAMABAD: PTI has decided to contest the upcoming local government elections in the capital, with the party’s regional leadership directing district and town organisations to file nomination papers in every ward across all union councils between November 2 and 6, it emerged on Wednesday.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has scheduled the polls for December 20.

On Wednesday, PTI’s Islamabad wing President Amir Mughal, speaking to Dawn, said, “We have decided to contest elections on all 125 seats of union councils”.

Mughal said that PTI visited areas across the city to get input from the people, claiming that “over 95 per cent of people suggested contesting the elections.”

“They were of the view that the government can not do more than what it is already doing with the party. So we will contest without going into what kind of election symbols are allotted to our candidates,” he said.

Replying to a question, Mughal said the commission had already postponed the election four times and feared further postponement again due to PTI’s popularity.

Meanwhile, in a press release issued on Wednesday, the party said Mughal, Shoaib Shaheen and Malik Aamir had held more than 25 meetings across the three electoral constituencies over the past three days.

It said that the decision to participate in the elections was taken after a series of online consultations with around 400 office-bearers representing the regional and district organisations, eight town organisations, all 125 union councils, and various party wings and committees, including the labour wing, Insaf Students Federation, youth, traders and women’s wings, the advisory council, working committee and core committee.

According to the statement, 95pc of the office-bearers consulted supported contesting the elections.

The party said it would field candidates committed to public service and loyal to the political ideology of PTI founder Imran Khan. It said preference would be given to dedicated, principled and determined workers who had remained at the forefront of the party’s political struggle.

Noting previous delays, the party vowed to press for the elections to be held as per schedule.

Criticising the existing local government law, PTI said the government intended to hold elections under a flawed system that left elected representatives without meaningful powers, even over basic municipal services such as street cleaning, while concentrating authority in the bureaucracy.

The statement also opposed the reported move to replace the direct election of chairmen and vice chairmen with an indirect electoral process through councillors. PTI described the proposed arrangement as a potential means of pre-poll rigging, alleging that councillors could be intimidated or pressured into changing their votes.

The party also questioned the proposed announcement of election results four days after polling, claiming that the delay could facilitate manipulation.

Claiming that Islamabad had traditionally been a PTI stronghold, the party expressed confidence it would secure a sweeping victory in the local government elections, similar to the result it claimed to have achieved in the 2024 General Elections.

The term of the local government in the capital expired in February 2021, and the ECP was supposed to conduct elections within 120 days.

However, over the years, the federal government and the ECP spent their time carrying out delimitation and announcing election schedules, only to postpone the polls later.

In the schedule announced last week, October 30 was set for the issuance of a public notice inviting nomination papers. After the completion of various stages of the electoral process, polling will be held on Dec 20.

The ECP has reserved four days, from Dec 21 to 24, for the consolidation of results.

ISLAMABAD: A majority of PTI lawmakers on Tuesday opposed further efforts to negotiate with the powers that be, arguing that the latter had already secured what they wanted, and that pursuing further talks would “only show weakness”.

Several members also expressed dissatisfaction with the party leadership’s handling of the prevailing challenges, questioning its decisions and overreliance on then-Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister Sohail Afridi.

Heated arguments were witnessed during a joint parliamentary party meeting that lasted over seven hours, with some questioning why the top leadership had handed so much authority to Mr Afridi, who, they said, held no position within the party hierarchy.

On the other hand, around 15 lawmakers favoured supporting the proposed 28th Amend­ment, arguing that it could help normalise relations with the establishment and pave the way for the release of Imran Khan.

The meeting, held at Parl­i­ament House to discuss the prevailing political situation and the party’s future strategy, was chaired by PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan. Former National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser, Senator Ali Zafar and Chief Whip Malik Amir Dogar were in attendance.

An insider, requesting anonymity, said that most participants, including Mr Qaiser, had rejected further efforts to negotiate.

Some criticised Barrister Gohar and Secretary General Salman Akram Raja, questioning why the party leadership appeared to be functioning under Mr Afridi. They alleged that the top leadership had left everything to the KP chief minister, who had become non-functional after the imposition of governor’s rule in KP, because of its interest in transfers, postings and financial matters in the province.

Public support

The insider said members believed that although morale had declined following the PTI government’s removal in KP, the party had not lost public support.

Another participant said Mr Qaiser presented a pre-written declaration containing points that had not been discussed at the meeting, annoying several members. At this, Faisal Amin Gandapur reacted by asking, “Is this a joke?” and walked out following an exchange with Barrister Gohar.

Mobeen Arif Jutt questioned why the party was not speaking up for leaders who were in jail or in hiding, saying he felt embarrassed when speaking to them. He also criticised opposition leader Mahmood Khan Achakzai, alleging that Mr Achakzai had contacted Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz after his son was arrested near Kharian and stayed in Lahore until his son was released.

Azam Swati urged Barrister Gohar and his colleagues to step down, while MNA Shah Ahad also criticised the leadership. Peshawar MNA Sher Ali said party leaders were receiving calls asking them to surrender to the police or face police raids on their homes.

Consultations go on

After the meeting, party whip Amir Dogar said several prevailing issues had been discussed, but decisions would be taken after consultation with leaders of the opposition in both houses. This was the first session and another meeting would follow, he said.

Senator Ali Zafar said the meeting had discussed possible future decisions and that committees, to be headed by the opposition leaders, would be formed.

Media reports suggested that some lawmakers, including Ali Muhammad Khan, walked out of the meeting before it concluded.

Published in Dawn, October 28th, 2026