Islamabad: The revelation that PTI (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf) central leaders Barrister Gohar and Omar Ayub contested the elections as independents has opened a new Pandora’s box and has placed the central leadership in a fresh dilemma.
Following the Election Commission’s acknowledgment of the PTI affiliation of 39 National Assembly members, the list of members who contested as independents has emerged.
It has been disclosed that Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and Omar Ayub filed their nomination papers as independent candidates in the elections held on February 8 this year.
The current central leadership of PTI did not declare party affiliation in the nomination papers submitted to the Election Commission.
Recently, the Supreme Court had given a deadline for members who won the elections as independents and later joined the Sunni Ittehad Council to join PTI.
Barrister Gohar and Omar Ayub preferred to remain independent rather than joining the Sunni Ittehad Council, and the central leadership joining the council also failed to declare party affiliation in their nomination papers.
Members of the National Assembly who did not declare PTI affiliation in their nomination papers include Ali Muhammad Khan, Shehryar Afridi, Sheikh Waqas Akram, Hammad Azhar’s father Mian Azhar, Jamshed Dasti, and Riaz Fatyana.
Others from PTI who did not declare their affiliation include Sunni Ittehad Council chief Sahibzada Hamid Raza, Atif Khan, and Sanaullah Masti Khel.
Among those holding independent status in the National Assembly are Ali Asghar Khan, Mubarak Zeb, Muhammad Aslam Ghuman, Usman Ali, Zahoor Ahmad, and Aurangzeb Kuchi.