Imran Khan will not contest intra-party election: Sher Afzal Marwat

ISLAMABAD: Chief of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan will not contest the ‘long-pending’ intra-party elections, being held to fulfil the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) directive by completing the process before December 13, his lawyers said on Tuesday.

Talking to journalists, Advocate Sher Afzal Marwat said that Imran Khan will not contest the intra-party elections due to his conviction in Toshakhana case.

In August, PTI chief was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment by an Islamabad trial court in a separate Toshakhana case. The case, filed by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), had accused Khan of not mentioning the details of state gifts in his tax declarations.

Later, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) set aside the sentence and ordered his release. However, he was not freed as he was undergoing trial in the cipher case.

Today, Imran Khan’s lawyer said that the PTI will get a new chairman following the intra-party elections. “In this regard, Imran Khan has conveyed his decision to the party’s core committee from jail,” he added.

However, Marwat said, the former premier will himself decided the name for new PTI chief. “Once all the constitutional and legal obstacles are removed, Imran Khan will again become PTI chief,” he added.

Earlier in the day, it was reported that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is planning to hold intra-party elections this week following the orders of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

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Sources said that the PTI core committee has decided to hold intra-party elections after consultation with the incarcerated party chairman Imran Khan.

The schedule is expected to be released during the current week, the sources said.

On November 23, the Election Commission of Pakistan ordered the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf to hold polls within 20 days.

However, the bat would remain the election symbol of the party, the ECP said in its decision on the PTI’s intra-party election that was reserved on September 13.

The election commission had taken notice of the PTI’s intra-party elections. The PTI had submitted details of its party elections on June 08 last year.