ISLAMABAD: Chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Barrister Gohar Ali Khan said that the names of all candidates had been finalized in March 2024 with the approval of PTI founding chairman Imran Khan.
Talking to the media at the Judicial Complex Islamabad, Barrister Gohar clarified that not a single candidate was nominated by PTI, whose decision was taken without consulting Imran Khan. He said that questions are being raised by some elements regarding Mirza Muhammad Afridi, but the fact is that Mirza Afridi’s name was also finalised by Imran Khan personally.
According to Barrister Gohar, all the names were finalized in March 2024; however, the Senate election process was delayed due to legal complications regarding the reserved seats issue. He said that after the decision on reserved seats, some constituencies were afraid that the party would get fewer seats; however, we got 6 Senate seats from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which is exactly as expected.
The PTI chairman stressed that the talk of giving tickets to those who held press conferences after May 9, 2023, is baseless. He explained that Mirza Muhammad Afridi did not issued any statement against the party, but he also always stood loyally with the party’s narrative and interests.
“The decision-making authority rested with the founder PTI.” Barrister Gohar said that despite all the political pressure and legal obstacles, PTI maintained unity within its ranks, and there was no possibility of any interference or compromise in the nomination of Senate candidates. “All these decisions were taken under clear leadership, and the party maintained the tradition of moving forward democratically,” he said.
Read also: PTI warns dissidents of expulsion ahead of KP senate elections
