Imran Khan handed over his party to 'Zardari's protégé,' PML-N mocks PTI

• Khawaja Asif censures Imran Khan for sidelining colleagues.
• Zardari was the leader of PTI's new chairman for 14 years.
• Ex-premier not willing to trust his own colleagues, says Asif.

Taking a jibe at Barrister Gohar's election as Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) chairman, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) senior leader Khawaja Asif Sunday censured Imran Khan for handpicking Asif Ali Zardari's "protégé" as party's new chairman.

The former defence minister was referring to Gohar replacing Imran Khan as the party chief following the inta-party election on Saturday which were held after the ECP issued a 20-day deadline warning party to hold polls or lose its "bat" symbol.

Barrister Gohar’s nomination as party chair became a controversial subject within the PTI when his name was revealed by the party's Senor-Vice President Sher Afzal Marwat earlier this week saying that he would be the party's candidate for chairman after Khan decided to abstain from contesting for the top post owing to legal challenges including his five-year disqualification in the Toshakhana case.

Taking a dig at Gohar — a former member of the Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarian (PPPP) who contested the 2008 elections on the Zardari-led party's ticket — Asif took to social media to lambast Khan for choosing a person to lead his party whose leader was Asif Ali Zardari for 14 years.

"Imran Khan liked a 'diamond carved by Zardari sahib' so much that he handed over his chair to him," he wrote on the microblogging platform X.

The PML-N stalwart stressed that the former premier is not willing to trust his colleagues who have been with him for years.

"It is difficult for a person who has deceived people all his life to trust others," he added.

Who is PTI's new chairman?

According to the PTI leader’s website, he is an advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and appears in all high courts as well.

He is a law graduate from Wolverhampton University, UK with LLM from Washington School of Law, USA. Gohar has been in active law practice with more than 50 reported judgments to his credit on subjects ranging from taxation, commercial, corporate, arbitration, banking, election, etc.

The PTI leader has civil and criminal trials experience, and even has the honour to appear before the Supreme Judicial Council, Field General Court Martial, and its Court of Appeal.

His clients include public and private companies and important persons, including Imran.