Barrister Ali Zafar Withdraws from PTI Chairmanship Race Citing Conflict of Interest in Pakistan

Barrister Ali Zafar withdrew his candidacy for PTI chairman on Sunday due to the party’s leadership crisis, according to a report from Geo News, which cited The News. Prior to the party’s internal polls, Barrister Gohar Ali Khan declared Zafar as the PTI chairman candidate. Since then, Zafar has become a pivotal member of the party, serving as its senatorial representative and part of the legal team that has been arguing cases in several courts in recent months. Barrister Zafar stated in an interview with The News that he believes he cannot serve as the party’s chairman and still pursue his efforts to secure the release of PTI founder Imran Khan from custody.

This conflict arises from the possibility that, in order to continue serving as chairman, I would want to keep him behind bars. Such a conflict of interest is not something I want to encounter. In my professional opinion, it is incorrect,” the attorney emphasized. In light of the Supreme Court’s ruling in favor of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), which declared the PTI’s intra-party elections invalid due to administrative irregularities pertaining to its failure to abide by its own Constitution as well as the provisions of the Election Act 2017 and Election Rules 2017, the party announced earlier this week that it would hold new intra-party elections on March 3. 

Candidates who want to run in the intra-party polls can turn in their nomination papers on February 23 and 24, and the nominations will be reviewed on February 25, according to the PTI’s election schedule. On February 27, the party’s central office and provincial secretariats will announce the final choices for nomination papers. On March 3, voting will take place.