ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Jailed former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party said on Wednesday that he had named one of his lawyers as his temporary stand-in to contest the position of party head.
Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party released a video showing barrister Gohar Khan announcing his nomination.
“I will fill in for Imran Khan,” the nominee said, adding that Khan was and will always remain party chief.
The party needs a new chairman to hold elections scheduled for Saturday to elect a new party chairman and other office bearers as former national cricketing hero Khan, being a convict, is barred from taking part.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) last week gave the party 20 days to hold the intra-party elections, which are needed for it to keep the cricket bat as its election symbol.
Barrister Ali Zafar, another of Khan’s lawyers, said that the replacement was just a babysitting arrangement.
Khan was convicted and sentenced to three years in prison in August on corruption charges.
General elections are scheduled for Feb. 8, 2024, with Khan’s party facing former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s party as its main opponent.
(Reporting by Asif Shahzad; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Nick Macfie)
