Published November 29,2023
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Pakistan‘s incarcerated former Prime Minister Imran Khan stepped down as chairman of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) celebration amid court docket battles, his lawyer and a senior celebration official stated on Wednesday.
Addressing a news convention within the capital Islamabad, Barrister Ali Zafar stated that Khan’s lead lawyer, Barrister Gohar Khan will act as “caretaker chairman” of the celebration till the ex-premier is cleared by the court docket.
The PTI is about to carry its intra-party elections on Dec. 2 to elect new celebration management following a directive from the nation’s prime electoral authority, the Election Commission of Pakistan.
Last week, the fee ordered the PTI to carry recent intra-party polls throughout the subsequent 20 days to elect a brand new celebration chairman and different office-bearers following Khan’s disqualification in a case associated to the unlawful buying and promoting of state presents in October final yr.
Islamabad High Court, nonetheless, suspended his sentence within the overseas presents case, generally referred to as the Toshakhana case, and ordered his launch on bail. But Khan was arrested in one other case that accused him of exposing state secrets and techniques.
“Imran Khan will not take part in these intra-party elections to avoid any legal consequences for the party in the upcoming general elections,” Zafar added.
The nationwide vote is slated to be held on Feb. 8 subsequent yr.
Zafar stated he had a gathering with Khan in jail on Tuesday, during which the latter endorsed the appointment of Barrister Khan because the celebration’s “caretaker” chairman.
“Let me make it clear. Our chairman is and will remain Imran Khan. I am here as a temporary arrangement with a view to avoiding the possible legal consequences,” Barrister Khan, who additionally attended the news convention, stated.
The ex-premier, who’s dealing with a slew of instances, has been in jail since August.
Khan, who served as prime minister of Pakistan from 2018-2022, misplaced a vote of confidence in parliament in April 2022, one yr in need of finishing his time period.
Source: www.anews.com.tr