ISLAMABAD: The ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) has completed overdue reorganisation of the party by announcing new office-bearers at the Centre, in the four provinces, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.

The reorganisation approved by PTI chairman Imran Khan is aimed at party’s preparations for the upcoming local government elections.

PTI’s central chief organiser Saifullah Nazi on Friday issued several notifications regarding the reorganisation of different chapters of the party with no heavyweights.

Talking to Dawn, former information secretary Umar Cheema, who has been elevated as vice president of the PTI, said the party’s structure had been virtually dissolved for the past two years and it was being run on an ad hoc basis by regional presidents.

No heavyweights in new office-bearers

Asked why no party heavyweight was given slots in the main party structure, he said most of the party’s top leaders had become parliamentarians and ministers and, therefore, they could not spare time for the party affairs from their other responsibilities. “We have given representation to those party workers who are diehard and associated with the party for a long time.”

According to the notifications, Arshad Dad will head the central executive committee as its senior vice president and its other members are: Omar Sarfaraz Cheema (vice president), Zahid Hussain Kazmi (vice president), Aamer Mehmood Kiani (secretary general), Dr Abol Hasan Ansari (additional secretary general), Omer Farooq Meyer (deputy secretary general, Punjab), Naik Mohammad Khan (deputy secretary general, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Sardar Khadim Hussain Wardak (deputy secretary general, Balochistan), Chaudhry Mohammad Iqbal (deputy secretary general, AJK), Hashmatullah Khan (deputy secretary general, GB), Ahmed Jawad (secretary information), Ejaz Rafi Butt (joint secretary), retired Lt Col Amanullah Khan (joint secretary), Neelofar Bakhtiar (joint secretary), Humayun Jogezai (joint secretary, Balochistan), Sharif Jogezai (joint secretary, Balochistan) and Khawaja Farooq (joint secretary, AJK).

The Islamabad executive committee will be headed by Fareed Rehman, the Punjab executive committee by Ejaz Ahmad Chaudhry, the south Punjab executive committee by Noor Khan Bhaba, the KP executive committee by Faraz Khan, the Sindh executive committee by Haleem Adil Sheikh and the Balochistan executive committee by Dr Muneer Baloch as presidents. The executive committee of Gilgit-Baltistan will be headed by Syed Jaffar Shah as president and that of AJK by Barrister Sultan Mehamood Chaudhry as president.

Published in Dawn, July 20th, 2019