Imran Khan not to contest for PTI chairman's post, nominates close aide

ISLAMABAD: Jailed former prime minister Imran Khan will not contest the organisational polls of his party and has instead nominated his close aide Gohar Khan for the post of Pakis­tan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman to lead the party in the upcoming general elections, a top leader said on Wednesday.

Barrister Ali Zafar said that Chairman Imran Khan would not be contesting intra-party polls scheduled for December 2 due to his legal problems, hence Barrister Gohar Khan had been nominated for the slot of the party chairmanship in a temporary arrangement. Imran Khan had been convicted in the Toshakhana case.

His statement comes a day after confusion erupted within Imran Khan's party after it dismissed a statement by one of its own senior leaders, who claimed that the jailed leader would not contest for the chairman's post in the upcoming intra-party polls.

"Imran Khan was, is and will continue to be the chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf... I will carry out my responsibility till Khan returns," said Gohar Khan, a member of PTI chairman's legal team.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is set to conduct intra-party elections within the 20-day time frame set by the election commission to retain the ‘bat’ as its electoral symbol, ahead of general elections scheduled to be held on February 8.

The party was asked by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) last week to hold polls within 20 days or it would be deprived of its election symbol of cricket bat.

Zafar said that the party discussed the issue of election with Imran Khan who said that he did not want to give the ECP any “excuse” for not giving the party the bat symbol in the upcoming general elections.

"The public is with us. We will win the elections when they happen. I want to take part in the general election. Intra-party polls hold no meaning for me. I want the Toshkahana case to be decided as soon as possible. When it is decided, I will contest intra-party polls as chairman," Zafar quoted Imran Khan as saying.

The ex-premier also directed the party to hold intra-party polls while making it clear that he would not contest intra-party polls until the Toshakhana case was decided.

"With his (Gohar Khan) nomination, you will realise that this is not a minus-one formula, that this is not a coup. He is Imran Khan sahib’s own nominee and is appropriate for the temporary arrangement we are doing,” Zafar said.

He also said that the new chairman would be a “caretaker chairman” and work on a temporary basis until Khan was re-elected as head of the party after his acquittal. He further said that PTI and Imran Khan were synonymous.

"PTI is Imran Khan and Imran Khan is PTI. PTI is nothing without Imran Khan. It doesn’t matter if you’re the chairman on paper. The leader, and the continuous leader, is Imran Khan sahib,” he added.

Khan has been in jail since Aug 5 when he was arrested after a conviction in the Toshakhana case. He was also disqualified by the ECP in the same case for failing to disclose the proceeds from the sale of gifts he got from the state repository.

The party's Core Committee on Monday gave formal approval to hold the intra-party polls within the time frame of 20 days given by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). If the party does not follow the orders, it will lose its bat symbol.

Khan, being a former iconic international cricketer, is considered synonymous with the (cricket) bat.

This will be a huge development for the party as the country moves towards general elections, set to take place in February.

Meanwhile, Sessions court judge Muhammad Mureed Abbas on Wednesday rejected Imran Khan’s request for acquittal in the intimidation of a female judge case.

The former prime minister was booked under terrorism charges in August 2022 at Margalla police station in the federal capital for his remarks at a rally in F9 Park where he warned Additional District and Sessions Judge Zeba Chaudhry and police high-ups of dire consequences for their “biased” attitude towards his party.

However, after personally visiting Judge Zeba at an Islamabad lower court to apologise last year, Imran Khan had submitted an affidavit to the Islamabad High Court, assuring that he would not repeat actions that would hurt the dignity of the judiciary.

The IHC, after disagreements between Justice Babar Sattar and Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, quashed the terrorism charges against him and the case was transferred from an anti-terrorism court to a sessions court in December 2022.