ISLAMABAD: PTI leader Sher Afzal Marwat Friday claimed that Barrister Gohar Ali Khan was ‘removed as the party chairman over his unsatisfactory performance’.
His surprising remarks came a day after Gohar announced that the PTI’s next nominee for chairman was Barrister Ali Zafar, as the party had planned intra-party elections on March 3.
Talking to Geo News, Marwat said, “Incompetence and poor performance are the reasons behind Gohar’s removal as chairman. Barrister Gohar is a gentleman but his performance was not satisfactory, especially following the February 8 elections with regard to rigging”.
Responding to a question, he said Gohar had failed to live up to the party and its workers’ expectations, as to run a party office, one had to be active all the time, but this was not the case. The News tried twice to contact Gohar for his reaction to Marwat’s statement but he did not attend the call, and was also not able to reply to the message on his WhatsApp number. A day earlier, Gohar, while announcing the nominee for the top slot said this time, ‘our candidate for the party chairman will be Barrister Ali Zafar and Omar Ayub secretary general’.
Though the party and its central media department mentions Gohar as the party chairman, legally speaking, the slot has been lying vacant since the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and then the Supreme Court of Pakistan declared its intra-party elections unlawful and stripped the party of its iconic ‘bat’ symbol.
Therefore, Gohar, who became the chairman as a result of those elections, was not the party head anymore, following the ECP and apex court judgments.
Speaking in the Geo News ‘Naya Pakistan’ show, Barrister Ali Zafar contended that the talk of his nomination for the post of chairman had come out before time, adding that Gohar was working very well and he should be the head of the party.
“We will have consultations on the chairman’s post. Let’s see what happens for I remain hectically busy in PTI’s cases, whereas so much time is required for the slot of chairman. There is a possibility that the decision of nominee be reviewed,” he maintained.
However, he said the PTI had given his name for the top post but still consultation was to be held. Ali Zafar said he wanted to focus on the PTI cases while his opinion was included some way or the other in making political decisions.
“If, I declined to become party chairman, then Gohar Ali will remain chairman,” he remarked.