ISLAMABAD: Barrister Gohar Ali Khan has filed his nomination papers for the position of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman ahead of intra-party polls, after Barrister Ali Zafar withdrew from the race citing a “conflict of interest” due to his role as Imran Khan’s legal counsel in various cases.
If elected, Gohar will serve his second term as PTI chairman, having previously been elected in the intra-party polls held on December 2, 2023, according to The News.
The development follows the party’s announcement last week of holding fresh intra-party elections on March 3 after the Supreme Court backed the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) request to uphold its verdict declaring the PTI’s intra-party elections null and void.
void due to administrative irregularities resulting from its failure to comply with its own Constitution, as well as the stipulations of the Election Act 2017 and Election Rules 2017.
According to the election timetable announced by the party’s Federal Election Commissioner Raoof Hasan, the deadline for candidates seeking to compete intra-party polls was February 25 (Sunday).
Meanwhile, the final decision on nomination papers will be published on February 27, and polling will take place on March 3 at the PTI’s central office and provincial secretariats in order for the party to qualify for the election symbol.
While Gohar submitted his candidacy papers for the highest position in the party, the nomination papers of a 15-member panel, headed by Central Secretary General Omar Ayub Khan for the central organisation, were also submitted.
Meanwhile, Ashraf Qureshi from Sindh, Muhammad Aslam from Balochistan and Naveed Anjum from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) have also filed their nomination papers for the post of chairman.
Dr Yasmin Rashid, Muhammad Khan Madni and Asad Hanif also submitted nomination papers for the panels for the party’s Punjab organisation.
Similarly, nomination papers of two panels led by Haleem Adil Sheikh and Bakhsh Ghulam Muhammad, nominated by the founder chairman, were received for the party’s Sindh organisation.
