Khawaja Asif criticizes Imran Khan for appointing Barrister Gohar as PTI chairman

SAILKOT: Senior leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Khawaja Asif criticized Imran Khan for appointing Barrister Gohar as the new chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), mocking the decision as Khan’s selection of Asif Ali Zardari’s “protégé” for the role.

Asif’s comments came after the intra-party election on Saturday, prompted by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) warning the PTI to hold polls within 20 days or risk losing its “bat” symbol.

The controversy surrounding Barrister Gohar’s nomination as the party chair emerged within the PTI when Sher Afzal Marwat, the party’s Senior Vice President, disclosed his candidacy earlier in the week.

Marwat stated that Gohar would be the party’s candidate for chairman, as Imran Khan opted not to contest for the top position due to legal challenges, including his five-year disqualification in the Toshakhana case.

Khawaja Asif took a swipe at Gohar, highlighting his past association with the Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarian (PPPP) and his candidacy on the ticket of Zardari’s party in the 2008 elections.

Asif criticized Khan on social media, accusing him of choosing a leader for his party who had been associated with Asif Ali Zardari for 14 years. He quipped, “Imran Khan admired a ‘diamond carved by Zardari sahib’ so much that he handed over his chair to him,” in a post on the microblogging platform X.

The PML-N leader emphasized that Imran Khan seemed unwilling to place trust in colleagues who had been loyal to him for years, suggesting that a person who has a history of deceiving others throughout his life finds it difficult to trust others.