Islamabad – As top political parties in Pakistan struggle to form a government with no clear majority in mind, Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Thursday named party Secretary General Omar Ayub Khan as the party's nominee for the Prime Minister's post. Earlier this week, the party stated that it will join hands with Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM), to form governments at the centre and in Punjab. According to Pakistani news outlet Geo News, the party decided on the name after a long meeting with PTI founder Imran Khan who is currently serving in the Adiala jail. 

While addressing the media outside the jail premises on Thursday, PTI leader Asad Qaiser confirmed the nomination for the Prime Minister's slot. During the press briefing, Qaiser further stated that Imran would give a later today for a countrywide protest campaign against alleged rigging in the Feb 8 polls. He mentioned that Khan has given his party an “assignment to engage with all political parties that are protesting against the polls. These parties include JUI-F, ANP and QWP. “We want that we all form a strategy because the mandate was stolen — this was the worst and most rigged election in our history,” he said, insisting that polls lacked “credibility,” Pakistani news outlet Such TV reported. Speaking alongside Qaiser, Barrister Mohammad Ali Saif said that PTI leader Asad Qaiser’s brother Hakimullah had been nominated by the party for the speaker of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly.  “He also gave a special message with regards to America […] the US had not played their role accordingly […] Imran has a message that the US has an opportunity […] and should keep an eye on rigging in the elections," Saif averred. “If they are champions of democracy, then they should voice it if they think the elections in Pakistan were not fair,” he added. 

Shehbaz Sharif makes a comeback

Meanwhile, after a long negotiation with its allies, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) announced that the former Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif is likely to make a comeback to the office of the Prime Minister. Pakistan's Former Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb confirmed the news on Tuesday. “Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, the leader of the Pakistan Muslim League -N, has nominated Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif for the post of Prime Minister of Pakistan, while Maryam Nawaz Sharif has been nominated for the post of Chief Minister Punjab,” Aurangzeb wrote on X, formally known as Twitter. 

Shortly after the announcement, PTI released a statement on the matter. The party shared a photograph of six party leaders addressing the press, with the caption of “mandate thieves”.