PESHAWAR: Barrister Gohar Ali Khan was elected new chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) in the intra-party polls which took place here on Saturday, as per the direction of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

Party’s chief election commissioner Niazullah Niazi, while announcing the results, said Mr Gohar has been elected the new chairman whereas Omar Ayub Khan is the central general secretary of the party. He said new officer-bearers have been elected unopposed.

According to Mr Niazi, Dr Yasim Ras­hid has been elected PTI Punjab chief, while former minister Ali Amin Khan Ganad­apur will head the party’s KP chapter.

Similarly, Haleem Adil Sheikh was elected party’s Sindh chapter chief, while Munir Baloch will lead the Balochistan chapter. The intra-party polls took place at a cricket ground near the Peshawar interchange of M-1 Motorway.

Chairman Gohar says Imran has ‘buried’ hereditary politics, asks CJP for justice

There were over 200 party workers present on this occasion; however, none of the prominent party leaders were present. The only familiar faces who were present on the occasion were some of the former MPAs from the provincial capital besides local leaders from across the city and lawyers associated with the party’s legal wing.

‘Elected unopposed’

Talking to reporters, Barrister Gohar said his panel with Omar Ayub Khan emerged as the only one for the party’s top slots. Similarly, Mr Khan said that one panel each from the provinces entered the electoral fray and all of them were elected unopposed.

He said a formal notification of the election would be issued on Sunday and added that it would be submitted to the ECP on Monday. Mr Khan said their ‘unopposed election’ was testimony to the fact that only Imran Khan’s decision mattered in the party.

He said that more than 180 cases have been instituted against them and each day a new case was being registered. He complained that they did not get the desired relief from the courts. “Even today more than half of our leadership is underground.”

Barrister Khan said that the party which was being imposed on this country had neither credibility nor popularity among the masses. “People’s voice needs to be heard,” he added.

He said there were about 175 political parties in the country and all the political parties submitted their elections [results] to the ECP. “None of the parties’ intra-party polls have garnered so much scrutiny…as has PTI’s,” he said.

Barrister Khan said he was the successor and the representative of Imran Khan. He said they had presented the former premier with an option to make someone from his family the party’s chief; however, the proposal was rejected by him.

Gohar visits secretariat

Later, the new party chief visited the PTI Central Secretariat in Islamabad.

Central Information Secretary Raoof Hassan welcomed the PTI chairman and said Imran Khan buried the politics of inheritance by nominating a worker as the party chairman.

Raoof Hasan said the PTI CEC and other officials of the election commission “deserved all applause for conducting the intra-party elections in a very transparent, smooth and successful manner”.

He contended that the PTI reiterated its unflinching commitment to democracy and adherence to the constitution and law by holding intra-party elections despite a challenging environment.

In a comment on the claims made by PTI founding member Akbar S. Babar, the PTI leader said that Mr Babar was not a member of the PTI as he was launched to keep the former ruling party out of the general elections.

Ikram Junaidi in Islamabad also contributed to this report

Published in Dawn, December 3rd, 2023