It was just before the May 11 general elections that the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) held intra-party elections.

The move was hailed by the party chairman, Imran Khan, as a milestone and a new beginning in the political history of the country where parties are often family controlled.

In a countrywide poll, the PTI members chose office-bearers of the party from top to the union council level.

And it was Mr Khan who every now and then challenged other political parties to follow the precedent.

The PTI even ran special TV commercials introducing party workers belonging to the lower strata of society who were elected as office-bearers purely on the basis of their voting.

To a large extent, the trend was also visible in the allotment of party tickets for the general elections which resulted in sending some totally new faces to the legislatures, particularly from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The introduction of the new culture of intra-party elections was definitely a good and praiseworthy move otherwise a handful of families have been running political parties as their personal fiefdoms believing in an iron-fist control on its affairs.

For instance, the Bhuttos, Sharif brothers, Chaudhrys and now Zardaris are running the show within the PPP.

Surprisingly though, it seems the PTI leadership is also following in the footsteps of the other political parties. In a jaw-dropping development, the central executive committee (CEC) of the party forfeited its democratic right to make nominations for key positions within the party.

After deciding that the PTI office-bearers who have been elected and holding government offices should be relieved of party responsibilities, the committee in a unanimous vote allowed chairman Khan to fill the vacant positions single handedly. The CEC met in Islamabad during the third week of September.

As a result, the PTI chief appointed Jahangir Tareen Khan as the secretary general of the party.

Earlier, the position was held by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervez Khattak.

It’s an open secret for those who are aware of the PTI affairs that Mr Tareen, a landlord and known industrialist from the southern Punjab, had long desired to occupy this position.

One of the few rich industrialists of the country, the selection of Mr Tareen, as general secretary has not been received well both inside and outside the party. For one, he hails from the southern belt of Punjab – the district of Lodhran.

Party president Makhdoom Javed Hashmi and vice-chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi are from Multan, the capital of the proposed Bahawalpur Janoobi Punjab province.

Chairman Imran Khan himself belongs to the Mianwali district which some believe should also be made part of the proposed southern Punjab province.

So obviously, PTI leaders from other parts of the country are not happy with the complete south-bound leadership of the party.

Secondly, it may be a wrong perception but the party chairman had extensively used Mr Tareen’s personal aircraft during the elections and some argue his appointment as the general secretary is a reward to his generous financial support to the party.

PTI’s official spokesperson Dr Shireen Mazari, however, argues that the selection of Mr Tareen as the general secretary is for a few months until after the local government elections later this year after which the position will be filled through direct elections.

However, those questioning the selection say voting within the CEC from a panel of two to three candidates would have made a perfect choice. In whispers, though some of the party leaders have also resented the appointment of Mr Tareen.

Throughout the last five years, the CEC of the former ruling PPP on many occasions allowed party’s co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari to make final decisions.

For example, on two occasions it was Mr Zardari who decided who would be the prime minister. His choice proved a disaster for the party.

Therefore, Mr Khan would do well not to set a bad precedent by assuming such discretionary powers even if the party’s CEC gives it to him.