RAWALPINDI: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) on Sunday formally appointed MPA Ijaz Khan Jazi as the acting president of the party’s Rawalpindi district chapter.

After meeting PTI secretary general Jehangir Tareen, Mr Jazi told Dawn that a notification for his appointment had been issued.

“I have been asked to continue working as the acting president till further orders,” he added.

There was confusion after the party membership of PTI Rawalpindi district president MPA Arif Abbasi was restored along with that of Rashid Hafeez and two other office-bearers.

Mr Abbasi and nine other office-bearers were suspended on November 11 after a brawl between PTI workers from Rawalpindi and Imran Khan’s cousin Ahmed Niazi at the venue of the sit-in in Islamabad on November 10.

Mr Jehangir Tareen was in the United Kingdom for the last two weeks. After his return, the PTI chairman asked him to appoint Mr Jazi as the acting district president.

When contacted, MPA Arif Abbasi said he would comment on the move after Monday’s protest in Lahore as he and his colleagues were busy in making the protest call of Imran Khan a success. However, many local leaders said cracks would appear in the party’s Rawalpindi chapter.

“The decision of the inquiry committee will come in two or three days after which the party will decide to run the Rawalpindi chapter on appointments or through elected office-bearers,” said a senior PTI leader requesting not to be named.

Published in Dawn December 15th , 2014