The PTI on Friday refused to accept Hammad Azhar’s resignation from his offices as the general secretary and acting president of the party’s Punjab chapter and urged him to continue performing his duties.

Azhar had submitted his resignation on Wednesday, citing the litany of cases against him and the legal hurdles impeding him from acting out his party responsibilities of the two offices.

Today, PTI leader Barrister Gohar Khan said that he had put the issue before party founder Imran Khan for consideration. He added that he was not accepting Azhar’s resignation based on Imran’s special instructions.

“I request Hammad Azhar to continue to perform his organisational duties with full diligence, zeal and dedication as he has been doing since the first day.

“He has the full confidence of founder chairman Imran Khan, me and the entire party,” Barrister Gohar said.

He praised Azhar as one of the party’s loyal workers who had performed his organisational duties with “great persistence and bravery” amid the PTI’s “ongoing series of trials and tribulations”.

Barrister Gohar said the party highly appreciated the “priceless sacrifices made by its leaders and workers in the path of admiration and loyalty to the founding chairman Imran Khan and their unparalleled struggle for the rule of law in Pakistan and the true freedom of the nation”.

Azhar responded that he considered Imran’s trust in him as a matter of honour and realised the heavy responsibility upon him amid the present “difficult time”.

He said he would strive to ensure that he never hurts Imran’s trust in him.

On Monday, Azhar had alleged that the returning officer for PP-147 (Lahore) Nabeel Ahmad Memon did not receive his nomination papers. Azhar had said that he intended to contest the by-election for PP-147, which was relinquished by Hamza Shehbaz following his National Assembly win.

It may be mentioned that Azhar’s nomination papers for the NA-129 contest in the general elections were rejected. Azhar is declared a proclaimed offender in several cases related to the May 9 riots with a total of 42 cases against him.

He also has an inquiry on corruption charges pending with the Anti-Corruption Establishment against him.