PTI leader Barrister Gohar Khan on Thursday said former premier Imran Khan had nominated Omer Ayub as the candidate for prime minister while Mian Aslam Iqbal was picked for the slot of Punjab chief minister.
The situation arose after Barrister Gohar and other PTI leaders had several meetings with the imprisoned party chief at Adiala Jail to talk about the current political situation.
With negotiations intensifying after the elections, the PTI, along with other political parties, is considering its choices. Earlier this week, the Imran-led party, whose independent candidates secured a significant portion of the votes, announced its intention to form an alliance with the Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen in both the Centre and Punjab.
The party had said it would form a coalition government with the Jamaat-i-Islami in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. However, JI’s Liaquat Baloch later said that his party was not interested in working with the PTI in the province.
During a press conference near Adiala Jail, Barrister Gohar mentioned that Imran had chosen Omar Ayub Khan, the PTI central general secretary, as the candidate for prime minister. Omar Ayub Khan is currently in hiding due to facing over 20 criminal charges after the May 9 riots.
Meanwhile, Mian Aslam Iqbal and Salaar Kakar were nominated for the slots of Punjab and Balochistan chief ministers, respectively. Barrister Gohar said Aqibullah Khan — brother of PTI leader Asad Qaiser — was picked for the position of the speaker of the KP Assembly.
He mentioned that the PTI will reveal their choices for the National Assembly speaker and deputy speaker in the next few days.
Barrister Gohar further asserted that the PTI would not engage in power-sharing with the PML-N, PPP and MQM-P. “Imran Khan has clearly said that the politics of PTI is not for power-sharing but for the public,” he said.
“The PTI is doing politics for the protection of the public’s rights and believes in the supremacy of the mandate and democracy,” he highlighted. “Therefore, we don’t believe in any power-sharing.”
“We will do strong opposition until our full mandate is returned, but we are in the position to form governments in Punjab, KP and Centre,” Gohar said.
