Imran Khan's party nominates Gohar Ali Khan as chairman again: Report

Islamabad: Jailed former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan's party has once again tapped Barrister Gohar Ali Khan as its chairman, in a U-turn from its earlier decision nominating Barrister Ali Zafar for the top post, a media report said on Monday.

Barrister Gohar, 45, was elected as the 71-year-old Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman after it held an intra-party poll in December last year on the directions of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). However, its result, which some disgruntled PTI workers challenged, was annulled after a bitter court battle.

Subsequently, the party was deprived of its iconic cricket bat symbol by the top electoral body, and Gohar, who became the chairman after those elections, was no longer the party head.

Last week, Gohar announced that the party's next chairman nominee is Barrister Ali Zafar, and its internal elections are scheduled for March 3.

Quoting party sources, the Dawn newspaper said that while Zafar refused to accept the chairmanship, the deadline to submit nomination papers ended at 3 pm on Sunday, and only Gohar submitted his candidature for the top post.

Subsequently, the former ruling party nominated Gohar for its top position, the report said.

A senior party official told the newspaper that Gohar’s success is certain since PTI founder Khan nominated him.

The party's top post has been lying vacant for more than a month after the ECP and the Supreme Court declared its intra-party elections conducted in December unlawful.

The party is scheduled to hold fresh organisational polls on March 3. According to PTI's new election schedule, candidates intending to contest the intra-party polls were to submit their nomination papers on February 23 and 24, with the scrutiny being carried out on February 25.

Meanwhile, the final decisions on nomination papers will be announced on February 27, and the polling will be held on March 3 at the party's central office and four provincial secretariats.

On Saturday, the PTI issued a show-cause notice to senior leader Sher Afzal Marwat and sought his apology for making claims that Gohar has been “removed” from the post of party chairman for his “incompetence” and "poor" performance.

“Incompetence and poor performance are the reasons behind Gohar’s removal as chairman. Barrister Gohar is a gentleman, but his performance was not satisfactory," Marwat told Geo News.

He said that following the election results, the party leadership’s approach was not commendable and that Gohar, who should have led the party after the February 8 polls, failed.

The PTI-backed independents won majority seats at the National Assembly in the controversy-marred general election.

However, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) have agreed on a power-sharing deal to form a new coalition government, effectively ending Khan's chances of returning to power.

The PTI has rejected the attempts by two of its arch-rivals to form a coalition government, warning that robbing its public endorsement by the "mandate thieves" will result in the worst political instability.