Pakistan: Imran Khan’s PTI changes candidate for Punjab Prime Minister

Islamabad: Amid ongoing political tension, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Saturday announced that it has changed its candidate for the post of Chief Minister of Punjab after a crucial meeting. PTI General Secretary Hammad Azha took to X (formerly Twitter) and announced that the name Rana Aftab Ahmad Khan is the party’s new candidate for the Punjab CM. He said PTI chief Imran Khan had earlier nominated Mian Aslam Iqbal for the post but heavy police force was sent to the Punjab Assembly to arrest him, ARY News reported.

Hammad Azhar explained that the party leadership decided to nominate Rana Aftab after consulting with the former.

Notably, earlier, the PTI nominated Mian Aslam Iqbal as Chief Minister of Punjab, Salar Khan as Chief Minister of Balochistan, and Ali Amin Gandapur as CEO of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

The announcement was made by lawyer Gohar Ali Khan after a meeting at Adiala jail with PTI founder Imran Khan, ARY News reported.

Moreover, Iqbal was among several PTI leaders who were declared absconders in the May 9 case.

An anti-terrorism court in Lahore reportedly arrested 11 PTI candidates as absconders on May 9 last year.

During the first session on Friday, 85 members of the PTI, who have joined the Sunni Ittehad Council, were sworn in.

Earlier on Saturday, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)’s Malik Ahmed Khan emerged victorious to become the new Speaker of the Punjab Assembly, overcoming a challenge from the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) candidate, reports said. ARY News reported. .