ISLAMABAD: Parvez Khattak, chief of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Parliamentarian, has exposed PTI’s history of conducting fake intra-party polls, revealing how the party has held such polls four to five times previously.

The senior politician shared that the elections within PTI are merely done for paperwork. Speaking with a local TV channel in Peshawar, Khattak said: “There should be democracy in the party, not fraudulent elections.”

The politico’s comments come a day after the PTI elected Barrister Gohar Khan as its new chairman of the party after his nomination was made by none by ex-chief Imran Khan himself, who currently remains behind bars in multiple cases and stands disqualified following his trial in Toshakhana case. The party’s intra-party polls, however, remain contentious as several party members, particularly those who joined Khan at the time of PTI’s inception, oppose the election of Barrister Gohar as the new head of the party.

Barrister Gohar, however, has repeatedly said he is holding the post temporarily until the former prime minister returns from jail. Continuing his onslaught, Khattak pointed towards the lack of democracy in the party.

“Former chairman PTI did not tolerate anyone before him,” he said. The former chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa said Khan wanted a presidential system in Pakistan and not elections.

He also criticised the former PTI chairman’s act of disclosing a state secret by waving the cipher in a public rally last year, a case for which he is currently under trial. “We take an oath and promise not to disclose any secrets. The ex-chairman committed treason and violated the constitution by waving the cipher.”

Khattak insisted that Khan be registered in a case of terrorism. The senior politico revealed that a separate team was created for attacks on army installations on May 9 when the country suffered major economic and infrastructural loss as PTI workers and supporters wreaked havoc across the country while protesting against Khan's arrest earlier this year.

Khattak also said contrary to the former premier's insistence on dissolving provincial assemblies where PTI was a majority party, no politician was in favour of the decision.

Published in The Daily National Courier, December, 04 2023

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