LAHORE - PTI in a bid to establish itself the real challenger to the old political forces is planning to nominate a candidate for the presidential election as President Asif Ali Zardari’s term is ending on September 8.
Sources say that party high command has started homework for the purpose and has shortlisted Justice (r) Wajihuddin Ahmed as an appropriate candidate for the office of president.
They say that party would also get names of possible candidates from Punjab and Balochistan.
When asked why Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was excluded for recommending its candidate, they quoted senior party leaders as saying that the party is in the government there that is why Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan were put on the list for selecting candidate for the Presidency.
They say that party leadership would contact other opposition parties except the MQM for winning support for the PTI candidate and nominating a joint candidate.
According to sources, the PTI top leadership is likely to summon a meeting of the central executive committee to accelerate the process after the return of party chairman Imran Khan from London at the end of July.
On getting support from other parties, a senior PTI leader says that though chances to achieve this target are not strong, the party at least register itself as the leading challenger to the old political forces by initiating this political gimmick.
On excluding the MQM from opposition list, he remarked that no intelligent political leadership could afford to ask for the support of the MQM in these days when its top leadership is facing allegations of very serious nature.
He added that PTI was the party which took up the matter with Scotland Yard to launch investigations into the criminal activities of the people linked with MQM.
The possible PTI candidate for the Presidency, Justice (r) Wajihuddin Ahmed was a Supreme Court judge and former chief justice of the Sindh High Court.
He contested the presidential election against Pervez Musharraf in 2007. He joined the PTI in January 2011.