Imran Khan admits to groupism in PTI, says it’ll end if party wins Pakistan elections

Just days ahead of general elections in Pakistan, former cricketer and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan has admitted that there is groupism within his party. Speaking to Geo News, the PTI chief conceded that leaders Jahangir Tareen and Shah Mehmood Qureshi had their own groups within the party.

Expressing hopes that the groupism would end if the PTI is voted to power in the general elections, Khan said that the rift between the two top leaders of his party was narrowing.

During the interview, Imran Khan also reached out to other opposition parties, saying the PTI was willing to compromise on number of seats the it would contest to prevent former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s party – Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz – from winning the elections.

The PTI chief had earlier in June filed his nomination papers for the upcoming general elections from Karachi. Since 1988, the seat has been dominated by the Mutthaida Qaumi Movement (MQM) party in national and provincial elections.

Khan filed his nomination papers from NA-243 constituency but PTI's senior leader Asad Umar said he would also be contesting on other National Assembly seats. Umar had said that Imran Khan would contest the elections from four or five different constituencies scattered across the country.

In the 2013 elections, Khan had contested from NA-1 (Peshawar - II), NA- 56 (Rawalpindi - VII), NA-71 (Mianwali - I) and NA-126 (Lahore - IX).