ISLAMABAD: As the process of filing nomination papers begins on Wednesday (today), the incarcerated founding chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan on Tuesday barred new PTI chairman Gohar Ali Khan from allotting ticket to anyone without his approval.
The sources privy to the development told Business Recorder that the incarcerated ex-prime minister barred the new PTI chairman Gohar Ali Khan from allotting ticket to anyone without a go ahead from him.
The process of filing nomination papers begins on Wednesday (today) after 144 district returning officers (DROs) and 859 returning officers (ROs) across the country took their oath on Tuesday to be followed by the issuance of public notices to formally invite nominations.
During a meeting, the former prime minister directed Gohar to bring all those aspirants for PTI tickets in the upcoming general elections, and then proceed with issuance of tickets after his approval.
The sources said that no one would be issued a ticket without Imran Khan’s approval, adding all the details of those looking for PTI tickets in the upcoming elections would be decided by the ex-premier himself.
The new entrants to the party like Sardar Latif Khosa and others would be given tickets after formal approval by Imran Khan, they said, adding the decision to allocate tickets by Khan himself has shattered hopes of those looking to grab PTI ticket using backdoor channels.
There were reports that a good number of political novices who had no political background were optimistic to get tickets using their connections with people at the helm of affairs of the party in the absence of Imran Khan.
The sources said that the people who stood with the party would be allotted tickets in the upcoming general elections, and those who parted ways with the party under pressure would have no room in the party.
“The people who stood by the party when all hell broke on the party after the regime change operation in the country, will be the top priority for the party ticket, and a good number of lawyers would also be given tickets,” said a senior PTI official who declined to be named.
Meanwhile, talking to journalists, Sher Afzal Marwat also confirmed that the founding party chairman has said that those who stood by the party at testing times would not be ignored in the upcoming elections.
He also said that party founding chairman Imran Khan decided not to give tickets to those who showed little interest in the party’s conventions held in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and anywhere else.
“Imran Khan asked me to share the details of those looking for PTI tickets and those who have left the party will not be given any ticket while those who refused to hold a press conference or a statement against PTI despite pressure will be accommodated,” he added.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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