The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Tuesday refuted claims on Tuesday that its chief Imran Khan would abstain from contesting intra-party polls for the party chairman slot.
It ends speculations that seen boost soon after a statement regarding this was made by what the PTI called a “senior leader”.
Imran Khan is currently in Adiala jail and earlier in the day Sher Afzal Khan Marwat, a recent appointee as a senior vice president of PTI declared Imran’s decision not to participate in the election for PTI chairman.
Marwat cited legal prohibitions and Imran’s disqualification in the Toshakhana case as reasons behind this decision.
Talking to the media, Marwat asserted that Imran’s resolve to refrain from contesting was a consensual decision, subject to reversal upon the setting aside of the disqualification.
Despite Marwat’s assertion, the PTI, a few hours later, issued a statement on the social media platform X vehemently denying media speculation on the matter.
The party rejected the claims made by the “senior party leader” regarding Imran’s withdrawal from the party chairman election in intra-party polls.
The PTI’s statement clarified that discussions were underway on crucial matters related to intra-party elections, including the possibility of withdrawing Imran from the election or nominating another leader. It emphasized that no conclusive decisions had been reached yet, and details concerning the election date and candidate selection would be communicated to the media once leadership consensus was achieved.
Despite the party’s denial, Marwat maintained his stance in response to the PTI’s statement.
He insisted that his media statement accurately reflected decisions made by the PTI chairman in the presence of Senator Ali Zafar, Barrister Gohar Umair Niazi, and himself. Expressing confusion over the contradiction, Marwat encouraged the media to verify his statement with the mentioned individuals.
In the preceding week, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had directed the PTI to conduct intra-party elections within 20 days to retain the bat as its symbol. The party contested the directive, filing a petition in the Sindh High Court and alleging that the ECP’s move was an attempt to keep the PTI away from elections.
