- Ayub thanks Imran Khan for accepting his resignation as general secretary.
- More changes will be made to PTI's organizational structure.
- The development comes amid reports of divisions in the PTI ranks.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) top leader Omar Ayub Khan has said he has resigned as the party's general secretary “to focus on my role as leader of the opposition in Pakistan's National Assembly”.
“I am very grateful to [former] Prime Minister Imran Khan sahib for accepting my resignation as PTI general secretary to focus on my role as leader of the opposition in the National Assembly of Pakistan,” X wrote in his official name on Thursday.
Ayub said he had tendered his resignation on June 22, 2024 through a letter addressed to jailed PTI founder Imran Khan and party president Barrister Gohar Ali Khan sahib.
“The leader of the opposition in the Senate, Senator Shibli Faraz sahib, conveyed my message to [former] Prime Minister Imran Khan sahib today during his meeting at Adyala Jail,” he added.
The NA opposition leader further said that more changes will be made in the organizational structure of the PTI in the coming days following the instructions of the party founder.
“I want to thank all members of the PTI family, MPs and Tanzeem officials who have worked tirelessly and faced enormous difficulties to [ex] Prime Minister Imran Khan sahib and the PTI.”
The surprise development came amid reports of divisions in the PTI ranks, with Geo News reporting citing sources on Wednesday that 27 Sunni lawmakers from the PTI-backed Ittehad Council (SIC) deliberated on the option of resigning from the National Assembly in protest against the party's top leader. leadership.
Of the 27, insiders had said that 21 of their legislators hinted at the formation of an advance bloc over the senior leaders' inability to ensure the release of party founder Imran Khan from jail.
They also “conveyed a message” to PTI chief Barrister Gohar and general secretary Omar Ayub to make serious efforts for the release of the jailed leaders.
Disgruntled MNAs complained that some leaders were considering higher posts instead of focusing on the release of the PTI founder and party leaders.
Ayub was appointed general secretary of the PTI last year after his predecessor, Asad Umar, quit the party and active politics, joining the ranks of dozens of party members who parted ways with former Prime Minister Khan following violent protests. May 9 in which attacks occurred. Public and military facilities.
His resignation came on the same day that an Islamabad district and sessions court dashed the PTI's hopes of freeing the party founder by rejecting requests by Khan and his wife to suspend their sentences.
Khan, the deposed prime minister who was ousted from power by an opposition no-confidence motion in April 2022, has faced a series of charges ranging from corruption to terrorism since his ouster as prime minister.
He has been behind bars since August last year, after he was convicted in the Toshakhana case and subsequently sentenced in other cases before the February 8 elections.
Despite securing redress in other cases, including the £190m landmark and Toshakhana, and an acquittal in the encryption case earlier this month, the former prime minister remains behind bars due to his conviction in the iddat case .
