Barrister Gohar Khan elected PTI chairman unopposed

Liaquat Ali

Islamabad: Barrister Gohar Ali Khan was on Saturday elected unopposed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) new chairman, replacing incarcerated former prime minister Imran Khan.

PTI intra-party polls were held on orders of the Election Commission of Pakistan. Voters exercised their right to vote through an online app.

Barrister Gohar Ali Khan was nominated by the PTI founder for the top slot a couple of days ago.

According to PTI election commissioner Niazullah Niazi, former federal minister Omar Ayub Khan was elected secretary general of the party while jailed former provincial health minister Yasmin Rashid has been elected PTI Punjab president.

Incarcerated Haleem Adil Sheikh and Ali Amin Gandapur were elected unopposed party presidents of Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) provinces.

Earlier this week, Barrister Ali Zafar announced that party Chairman Imran Khan would not be contesting intra-party polls and Barrister Gohar Khan had been nominated for the slot of party chief.

PTI Senator Ali Zafar announced the development while addressing a presser along with Raoof Hasan and Barrister Gohar in Islamabad.

Speaking to the media outside the Election Commission of Pakistan in Islamabad, Zafar said the party chairmanship is temporary, as Khan would return as chairman of the party once his disqualification in the wake of the Toshakhana case is overturned.

He further said that ex-premier had directed the party to hold intra-party polls. “PTI is Imran Khan and Imran Khan is PTI.”
Meanwhile, Akbar S Babar, founding member of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), has decided to challenge the intra-party election, scheduled to be held on December 2 as per the directives of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

Babar said, as part of the founding members, he was involved in structuring the PTI constitution, in which democratic culture was adopted.

According to the party’s constitution, he claimed, no chairman can be elected more than two times while its term would be not more than three years. “Our aim was to make PTI an exemplary democratic party”, he added.