Confusion arises over Imran Khan’s reported plan not to contest as chairman

Confusion arose within Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party after it dismissed a statement from one of its senior leaders, who asserted that the jailed former Prime Minister would not compete for the chairman’s post in the upcoming intra-party polls.
PTI is gearing up for internal elections within the 20-day timeframe specified by the election commission to secure the party’s “bat” symbol before the general elections scheduled for 8 February. Barrister Gohar Khan has been named as the candidate for PTI’s chairmanship, announced Senior Vice-President Sher Afzal Marwat on Tuesday, contradicting earlier reports that Khan, aged 71, had decided not to retain the top post due to legal challenges as the party approaches internal polls.
Despite Marwat’s announcement, PTI insisted that there were no plans for Imran Khan to step down from his position.
The PTI, in a statement on X, strongly rebutted the “speculation” over the election of a new party chairman.
“Discussions are ongoing on all the important issues regarding the holding of intra-party elections,” it added.
Although several party leaders had confirmed that Khan would not be contesting the intra-party elections, they had claimed that the final candidate would be announced later on.
But Marwat, the party’s new face in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, stuck to his guns in the face of the party’s denial, and in response, took to X to say: “Whatever I have said in my media talk about the intra-party election is correct. The decisions were taken by the PTI chairman in the presence of Senator Ali Zafar, Barrister Gohar Umair Niazi and myself,” he said on Wednesday.
On Monday, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Core Committee officially sanctioned the conduct of intra-party polls within the 20-day timeframe stipulated by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). Failure to comply with these directives would result in the party losing its bat symbol. This represents a significant development for the party as the nation approaches the general elections scheduled for February.