ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has constituted a committee to find reasons behind the surprise defeat of the party in the by-election of NA-154 Lodhran.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidate Iqbal Shah emerged victorious with 116,590 votes while PTI candidate Ali Tareen could secure 91,230 votes.
NA-154 seat fell vacant after the Supreme Court disqualified the then member of the National Assembly and the secretary general of PTI, Jehangir Khan Tareen, under the article 62-1 (f) which refers to non-disclosure of assets.
This was seen as a major upset for PTI as the constituency had been seen as one of their strongholds after the 2015 bye-election in which Jehangir Tareen got the victory with 138,719 votes.
The fact-finding committee, headed by the former secretary general, will inquire into reasons behind the party’s defeat and will submit its report to the PTI Chairman Imran Khan within a week.
Earlier, talking to the media, Jahangir said that PTI would accept the result, regardless of if it was in favour or against the party and that there was no possibility of rigging since army personnel are deployed in the constituency.