ISLAMABAD: Just a day after it disputed claims by their legal team on who would be contesting for the post of party chairman in the upcoming intra-party elections in place of Imran Khan, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) ann­o­unced on Wednesday that Barrister Gohar Khan had indeed been picked for the top slot by Mr Khan himself.

The party also announced that the internal elections it was mandated to carry out as per the directives of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) would be held on December 2.

The decision to nominate Gohar Khan was formally ann­o­unced by Senator Ali Zafar during a press conference in Islam­abad. Mr Zafar said that Mr Khan would not be contesting the intra-party polls due to his legal problems. Mr Gohar will contest the polls in his stead as a “stopgap arrangement”.

However, he maintained that the party would challenge the ECP’s decision to void the party’s earlier internal polls.

Barrister Gohar Khan will be ‘stopgap arrangement’ until party chief’s legal troubles are sorted out, says Ali Zafar

Insiders said that during a meeting held a day earlier, it was decided that if the former prime minister managed to secure a favourable decision in the Toshakhana case from the Islamabad High Court on Wednesday, he would remain the party chairman since his disqualification would be overturned as well.

However, the court did not decide the case and adjourned the hearing until Dec 6, forcing the party to field another candidate for the post of chairman.

“It was decided to bring in a new chairman because, in case of any adverse decision by the IHC, ECP could deprive the party of its electoral symbol,” sources said.

‘Appropriate pick’

Speaking to the media outside the ECP building on Wednesday, Senator Zafar said that Gohar Khan was “an appropriate pick for a caretaker chairmanship”. This was not ‘a minus-one formula’ or a ‘coup’, he said, since Mr Gohar was Imran Khan’s own nominee.

He reiterated: “The PTI is Imran Khan and Imran Khan is the PTI… [it] is nothing without Imran Khan. It doesn’t matter if you are a chairman on paper. The leader, the perpetual leader, is Imran Khan.”

Mr Zafar said the party had to overcome legal hurdles, as well as implementing ECP’s “illegal and unconstitutional” order on holding intra-party polls, which is why it was taking this step.

He said that the PTI chief had been convicted in the Toshakhana case, and though the IHC had suspended his three-year sentence, a final decision had yet to be made on his conviction.

He said that all these matters were discussed with the PTI chairman in the presence of other lawyers, adding that Imran Khan did not want to give the ECP any excuse for not giving the party its electoral symbol in the next general elections.

Mr Zafar quoted the PTI chief as saying: “The public is with us. We will win the elections. 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.”

When asked why a leader of “greater stature” was not picked as Mr Khan’s replacement, Mr Zafar said that while the names of several prominent personalities were discussed for the coveted slot, all of them already had permanent positions within the party hierarchy.

“It would not be appropriate to give them a temporary position. That is why we need someone who is not controversial and can play a role in this caretaker mode, this temporary arrangement,” he said.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Gohar seemed overcome. “I am speechless. I do not have the words to thank my leader Imran Khan,” he said.

Imran Khan, he maintained, was the leader of the PTI, whether he was in jail or free. “[Mr] Khan was the leader and chairman, is the chairman and, God willing, will remain the chairman,” he said, adding that he would handle the post of party chairman until Mr Khan returned.

PTI ‘infighting’

PTI Senior Vice President Sher Afzal Marwat, whose announcement on Tuesday that Mr Gohar had been picked by the PTI chairman to contest the intra-party election for the slot of chairman, was formally denied by the PTI, also congratulated the nominee.

“PTI must stand united in this difficult time and do all the best to work towards national interest,” he said on a post on X (formerly Twitter).

“I have a message to all those who are busy in propagandas of all sorts. If you are patriotic, you should stop maligning others,” Marwat said.

“I request you all to please keep solidarity and keep your personal likings and agendas on side. We are one team and we will all support Gohar sahib so he can continue to lead PTI in Khan sahib’s ineligibility,” he wrote.

Published in Dawn, November 30th, 2023