It goes with the philosophy of putting forward winnable (read politically entrenched) candidates with a clean record. The party has learnt from its previous mistakes and understands the contours of the political culture in Pakistan, meaning that they now realize the importance of having candidates who’re strong in their “biraradri”/clan and who have prior political experience and are just not new unknowns. That’s sadly how voting happens there, and PTI has to cope with it. The key is to get max number of seats in the next elections, establish the PTI brand name and then they can put forward whoever they want.