ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday directed the Punjab government and his party's leadership to begin homework for the upcoming local government elections in the province, local media reported. 

The prime minister's directives came days after his party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), lost a coveted mayoral seat in local elections in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that it has ruled since 2013. 

Local body elections were held in 17 districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province on Sunday, in what was the first time such polls had been held in areas that used to be part of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), which were merged with KP in 2018. 

In the second phase, local elections will be held in the remaining 18 districts of the province on January 16. Local polls are also planned in the coming months in Pakistan’s other provinces. 

PM Khan on Thursday held a meeting with Punjab government officials and political leadership at the Chief Minister's secretariat, the Dawn newspaper reported. He acknowledged that wrong selection of candidates had led to the party’s defeat in its stronghold. 

“The government and party leadership should strictly select candidates on merit and avoid dynastic politics, which was exposed after causing damage to the party in KP,” Dawn quoted PM Khan as saying. “The mistakes made in KP must not be repeated in Punjab.”  

With candidates selected on merit, he said, the PTI would give a tough time to its opponents in Punjab local government elections. 

The prime minister said they wanted the transfer of power to the lower level, the Express Tribune reported. 

“Strong local government system has been provided to solve the problems of the people at the grassroots level,” the report quoted the premier as saying. 

“Candidates should be selected by taking the workers and local leaders into confidence and all reservations of PTI workers and the people should be removed.” 

Pakistani Information Minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain said the prime minister would preside over a meeting of senior PTI leaders on Friday. 

"Important organizational and policy affairs will be discussed in the consultative meeting," he said on Twitter. 

Earlier this week, PM Khan said the recent local government elections in KP were the beginning of introducing a system of transferable power in the country that existed in “successful” democracies. This was the first time in the country’s history that it had an “empowered” local government system, he added. 

Prior to that, the premier said his party had paid the price for “mistakes” in recent local elections and he would now personally supervise future strategy for his side’s campaign.