By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Imran Khan, who is serving a prison sentence for corruption, will not be contesting the intra-party elections of his Pakistan Tahreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party scheduled for Saturday, citing his legal problems and the risk of losing the party’s symbol in the upcoming general elections, his lawyer said on Wednesday.
Khan, a former cricket star who became the prime minister in 2018, was convicted in August by a trial court in Islamabad in a case involving concealing details of state gifts he received from foreign dignitaries during his tenure.
He was sentenced to three years in prison and disqualified from contesting general elections for five years. The Islamabad High Court suspended his sentence later that month, but he remains in jail in other cases, including cipher and land corruption cases.
Barrister Ali Zafar, a member of the PTI’s core committee, said Khan had nominated Barrister Gohar Khan, a senior party member, as the caretaker chairman of the party in a “temporary arrangement” until his legal issues were resolved.
“Imran Khan is not contesting this [intra-party] election temporarily until a final judgment comes in the Toshakhana case,” Zafar said, referring to the case in which Khan was convicted of hiding state gifts.
The move came after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), the country’s top electoral body, ordered the PTI last week to hold internal elections within 20 days to retain its election symbol, a cricket bat, ahead of the national elections scheduled for February next year.
Zafar said the names of several prominent personalities were discussed for the caretaker chairman post, but all of them had permanent positions within the party.
“Barrister Gohar Khan is our important legal office bearer and he will fulfill the temporary nomination.”
He said the top party leadership had also approved the nomination for the position of party chairman since everyone wanted a non-controversial person who could temporarily handle the responsibilities that accompanied the position.
“This is not a minus-one formula or a coup,” he said. “He [Gohar] is Imran Khan’s nominee and suitable for the temporary arrangement,” Zafar added.
“PTI is Imran Khan and Imran Khan is PTI. PTI is nothing without Imran Khan. It doesn’t matter if you’re the chairman on paper. The leader, and the continuous leader, is Imran Khan sahib.”
Zafar said that Khan did not want to give the ECP any “excuse” for not granting the PTI the bat symbol, which has been the party’s trademark since its inception, or for rejecting the nominations of its candidates while also going into an appeal against it in court.
Gohar Khan, who appeared alongside Zafar outside the ECP office in Islamabad, said that he was speechless and grateful to Khan for nominating him.
“Khan sahib was the leader and chairman, is the chairman and God willing will remain the chairman,” he said, adding that he would handle the post as party chairman until Khan returned.
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