A day before awaited jalsa, Omar Ayub steps down from PTI post

ISLAMABAD: Only a day before PTI’s planned power show on the outskirts of the federal capital, Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Omar Ayub Khan disclosed on Saturday that the party’s founding chairman Imran Khan had accepted his resignation from the office of the party’s secretary general.
The announcement was made by Mr Ayub, who had initially submitted his resignation on June 22, through his official social media account on X, stating that he had to submit a new resignation on Sept 4 after Mr Khan refused to accept the previous one.
“I had requested Sen­ator Shibli Faraz Sahib, Opposition Leader Senate and Chief of Staff, to convey my resignation as secretary general PTI during his meeting with (former) PM Imran Khan Sahib on Thursday … I am most grateful and indebted to (former) PM Imran Khan Sahib that he has accepted my resignation letter dated 4th September 2024. I had earlier resi­gned on June 22, 2024, but it was not accepted,” Mr Ayub said in a post. “Holding the offices of the leader of the opposit­ion in the National Asse­mbly, secretary general PTI, pursuing my legal battles and looking after the issues of the constituency I represent in the National Assembly are all taken together a tremendous workload,” Mr Ayub said while citing reasons for his decision to quit the key party office, adding that he would continue to work as a worker of the PTI and Imran Khan. In his message, Mr Ayub expressed his best wishes to his successor without naming anyone, stating that “I will work closely and tirelessly with the new secretary general for Imran Khan Sahib and PTI Insha Allah”.
According to sources in the party, names of lawyer Salman Akram Raja and MNA Sheikh Waqas Akram as the new secretary general were in circulation within the party circles.
However, when contacted, PTI’s information secretary Raoof Hasan termed these reports speculative, stating that the notification about the appointment of the new secretary general would most likely be issued on Monday (tomorrow). He said the party’s and its leadership’s focus was on the public meeting being held in Islamabad on Sunday (today).
Meanwhile, in his message on social media, Omar Ayub Khan urged the party workers to strive to make the jalsa at Sanjrani on the outskirts of Isl­amabad a resounding success.
Mr Ayub had announced his decision to resign as the PTI’s secretary general in June amid reports of fissures within the party ranks. In that resignation letter, which he had shared on X, he had also indicated that he would be stepping down as chairman of the PTI’s Central Finance Board. He, however, did not mention anything in this regard in his new social message.
Published in Dawn, September 8th, 2024