The PTI on Tuesday denied its own Senior Vice President Sher Afzal Khan Marwat’s claim that party chief Imran Khan, who is currently incarcerated at Adiala jail, would not contest the upcoming intra-party polls for the slot of party chairman — a position he has long held.
The party did not directly name Marwat, but it was clear that the clarification through its official social media account was addressing remarks made earlier in the day by Marwat, who had stated that Imran decided to sit out party polls due to legal prohibitions and his disqualification in the Toshakhana case.
Marwat had made the remarks while speaking to PTI’s social media representatives outside Adiala jail.
“Khan sahib himself has decided that he will not contest the polls for the office of PTI chairman,” he had said, adding that this decision was taken with consensus. Marwat said the decision would be reversed after the disqualification was set aside.
However, hours later, the PTI issued a statement on social media platform X stating that it “strongly denies” speculation in the media on the issue. It also denied the claims by a “senior party leader” about Imran not running for party chairman in intra-party elections.
“Discussions are ongoing on all the important issues regarding the holding of intra-party elections,” the party said. It said no decision had been taken regarding withdrawing Imran from the election or nominating another leader.
The party said that the details would be released to the media as soon as the leadership reached a conclusion on holding intra-party elections, the date and the selection of candidates.
