Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan has nominated party secretary general Omar Ayub Khan as its prime ministerial candidate, according to Dawn.
According to former National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser who met the PTI chief in jail, Khan called for engagement with other political parties who are currently protesting against the results of the February 8 election.
Omar is in hiding after facing over 20 criminal charges following the May 9 riots.
“Every child knows about the rigging that took place in the elections and how our mandate was stolen,” Qaiser was quoted as saying by the Dawn.
Earlier this week, PTI said that it would ally with another political party Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen at the Centre.
Meanwhile, Nawaz Sharif and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s parties — Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) have reached a deal to form a government. Both the parties were in a coalition that ousted Khan from power in 2022.
Bhutto’s father Asif Ali Zardari told a press conference that although his party and the PML-N had contested elections against each other, they had come together in the interests of the nation.
“It is not necessary that [we fight] forever,” Zardari said.
Independent candidates backed by PTI emerged as the single-largest block winning 101 national assembly seats. The PML-N won 75 seats while the PPP came third with 54 seats. According to Pakistan constitution, a government can only be formed by a recognised party or a coalition of parties. Nawaz Sharif has already nominated his brother Shehbaz to be prime minister.
Khan and his party have stated that they believe the elections were rigged against them and plan to challenge the results.
“I warn against the misadventure of forming a government with stolen votes. Such daylight robbery will not only be a disrespect to the citizens but will also push the country’s economy further into a downward spiral,” Khan was quoted as saying.
