The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Thursday gave a call for nationwide “peaceful protests” on February 17 (Saturday). The party also nominated its secretary general, Umar Ayub Khan, as the prime ministerial candidate.

Pakistan Election Results: Jailed ex-premier Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Thursday said it will hold nationwide “peaceful protests” on Saturday against its “marginalisation” in the country’s politics. Earlier today, the PTI nominated party secretary general Umar Ayub Khan, grandson of former military dictator Ayub Khan, as its prime ministerial candidate.

The PTI gave a call for nationwide “peaceful protests” on February 17 (Saturday) against its “marginalisation” in the country’s politics, saying it will not allow the people’s mandate for it to be “stolen” by rivals parties.

The developments come in the backdrop of the results of Pakistan’s general elections where no political party getting a clear majority,

On Tuesday, two of the country’s major political parties – the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) – said they will form a coalition government after the February 8 inconclusive elections.

If the coalition comes to fruition, Imran Khan’s PTI will remain out of power, despite over 100 independents backed by the party winning the February 8 polls.

‘Stolen’ mandate

In a change of tactics, the PTI said it will countrywide protests over the weekend against the alleged rigging in elections while joining the national and provincial assemblies.

The party previously had opted to either boycott or walk out of the assemblies while launching protests but the new strategy showed that it wanted to build pressure from within Parliament and also outside on the streets to press for its demand to rectify the results, which it says were rigged.

PTI senior leader Barrister Gohar Ali Khan told journalists after meeting former Prime Minister Imran Khan in Adiala Jail said that his party chief has given instructions to hold peaceful protests across the country.

“The PTI workers will hold peaceful protests across the country on Saturday against manipulation and rigging in the elections,” he said.

‘Won’t share power with any party’

The PTI leader refuted reports of forming a government with the PPP. “We will not negotiate with the PPP. The PTI’s founder Imran Khan’s clear stance is that he will not share power with the PML-N and PPP,” Gauhar maintained.

“This election will determine how free the people of Pakistan are,” Gauhar said, adding that his party will not allow for the mandate to be “stolen”.

Gohar Ali Khan claimed that his party had managed to win 180 seats in the National Assembly in the general elections on February 8, but an attempt was made to ‘rob’ its mandate through alleged rigging.

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on Tuesday night nominated 72-year-old Shehbaz as the prime ministerial candidate. To form a government, a party must win 133 seats out of 265 contested seats in the 266-member National Assembly.

Independent candidates, mostly backed by Khan’s PTI, won 101 seats. Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s PML-N has won 75 seats and former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto’s PPP has secured 54 seats.

The PTI-backed candidates ran as independents due to the party losing the election symbol of bat’ following controversy surrounding its intra-party elections.

Gohar Ali Khan also invited other political parties to participate in the protests against the alleged rigging.

“All we ask is that you participate and it is a question of your freedom,” he said.

He also warned against the arrest of its workers who would be joining peaceful protests which is their legal and constitutional right.

Earlier, PTI leader Hammad Azhar had said in a message that his party would soon hold a protest procession across Punjab province against the alleged rigging.

“All the candidates and workers of Punjab should start preparing for a peaceful protest on an emergency basis,” he said in a message on X.

He had also announced that people should prepare to come out on Imran Khan’s call against the stolen mandate’.

PTI has learnt a lesson from its past mistake of resigning from Parliament and from Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa provincial assemblies in 2022 which added to its hardships. The PTI decided to resign enmasse in 2022 after Imran Khan’s government lost a no-confidence motion against him in Parliament and had to resign.

Umar Ayub Khan named as PM candidate?

Meanwhile, the PTI earlier nominated the party secretary general Umar Ayub Khan, grandson of former military dictator Ayub Khan, as its prime ministerial candidate.

“I am hopeful that Umar Ayub Khan will be elected as Prime Minister,” former PTI speaker Asad Qaiser said while talking to media persons after meeting Imran Khan in the Adiala Jail at Rawalpindi, where he has been lodged since September last year.

PTI top leader Gohar Khan also confirmed that Umar Ayub Khan was nominated as PM by Imran Khan himself. “We will try our best that our candidate wins,” he said talking to the media.

Who is Umar Ayub Khan?

Umar Ayub Khan, 54, joined Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) before the 2018 general elections after losing the 2013 polls as a candidate of the PML-N from Haripur in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Umar Ayub Khan belongs to the Haripur district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and is a grandson of former military dictator Ayub Khan. He won from National Assembly Constituency NA-18 and also served thrice as a member of the National Assembly.

Umar was elected as a member of the National Assembly for the first time on the ticket of Pakistan Muslim League-Q in 2002 and was the Minister of State for Finance from 2004 to 2007 during the regime of former military dictator Pervez Musharraf.

He was the candidate of Pakistan Muslim League-N from Haripur in the year 2013 but was defeated by a PTI candidate. He alleged rigging and re-voting was held in seven polling stations of this constituency and Umar Ayub Khan won after re-polling.

He joined the PTI before the 2018 general elections and won on the party ticket. Later he served as Minister for Economic Affairs in the PTI government.

Meanwhile, Gohar Khan also said that the party founder nominated Mian Aslam Iqbal as the candidate for the chief minister of Punjab while Salar Saheb was nominated as the chief minister candidate for the Balochistan assembly.

(With inputs from agencies)