LAHORE (Daily Point) — The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has chosen to replace Mian Aslam Iqbal with Rana Aftab Ahmad Khan as its candidate for the chief minister of Punjab, as confirmed by a party official.

Hammad Azhar, in a post on X, stated, “As the police of the whole Punjab are present at the Punjab Assembly to arrest our CM candidate Aslam Iqbal, the party leadership in consultation with Mr Iqbal has decided to nominate Rana Aftab Ahmad Khan for the CM slot.”

Azhar further highlighted that Rana Aftab is the most senior member of the Punjab Assembly, having been elected as a member five times in the past.

This decision follows Iqbal facing nominations in several cases related to the May 9 riots.

The scheduled election for the Chief Minister’s office, set to take place on Monday at 11 am, will be contested between Maryam Nawaz and Aftab Khan, according to the timetable released on Sunday. The statement added that candidates can submit their nomination papers by Sunday 5 pm.

It’s worth mentioning that independent candidates, supported by the PTI, recently joined the Sunni Ittehad Council to secure reserved seats earlier this week.

Although the decision was announced by Azhar, Khan would be the SIC’s candidate in the assembly.

If elected, Maryam Nawaz would become the first woman chief minister of the province, having taken oath as a member of the provincial assembly on Feb 23.