The chief government spokesperson on Saturday admitted that there were internal rifts in the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) due to which it suffered a setback in Friday’s by-elections. The information minister said that the PTI has lost the elections with small margins but “it fought honestly”. “The Punjab CM has no grip over the party and the province and insiders also feel that he shouldn’t be the chief minister,” Mehboob said. Apart from the PTI’s internal rifts, he said that PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz ran an effective campaign and her visit to Nowshera –a PTI stronghold – has had an effect on the end results. By-elections were held for PP-51 Gujranwala-I, NA-45 Kurram-I and PK-63 Nowshera seats that fell vacant due to the demise of the lawmakers.

Source: The Express Tribune February 20, 2021 18:22 UTC