Imran Khan nominated Omar Ayub from PTI as Prime Minister

The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) has nominated former federal minister Omar Ayub for Prime Minister of Pakistan in consultation with Imran Khan. Former National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser announced it while speaking to the media outside Adiala Jail.

Asad announced after a meeting with imprisoned Imran Khan, who nominated Omar Ayub for candidacy for Prime Ministership. Meanwhile, PMLN has nominated former Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for prime ministership candidacy for a consecutive second term. However, Asad also hoped the prime minister would be from his party PTI.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has nominated former minister Omar Ayub as its candidate for the prime minister's slot. pic.twitter.com/9gOYMqGU3n
— Economy.pk (@pk_economy) February 15, 2024

Omar Ayub won the general seat for National Assembly for constituency NA-18, Haripur. He defeated PML-N candidate Babar Nawaz Khan by securing 192,948 votes. However, Babar secured 112,389 votes.

Omar is the grandson of the first military dictator of Pakistan, General Ayub Khan. General Ayub ruled from 1958 to 1969. Omar has recently been in hiding as law enforcement authorities want him for multiple investigations, including charges of involvement in the May 9 riots that followed the arrest of Imran Khan.

Earlier, he served as Federal Minister for Economic Affairs under the Prime Ministership of Imran Khan from Apr 2021 to Apr 2022. In addition, he also served as Federal Minister for Energy from Sep 2018 to Apr 2021.

However, Asad also emphasized during media talk that the mandate of PTI had been stolen during the recently held 2024 general elections. According to Asad, there was no talk of nominating someone for chief ministership of Punjab or speaker of the National Assembly with Imran Khan.

Click here to read the updates on PTI’s decides to not form a coalition government with PMLN & PPP

Furthermore, Asad announced that PTI will start a nationwide protest campaign. The party will reveal the date of this protest call this evening. There will be a series of protests and rallies across Pakistan.

Asad also referred to the 2024 elections as the worst in the history of Pakistan. He stated that the poll was not even being accepted internationally. He is going to reach out to different political parties.

Asad also claimed that Imran Khan advised him to contact everyone from all political parties protesting against rigged elections. It includes Fazlur Rahman, ANP, Qaumi Watan Party, and others.