RAWALPINDI: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), which has been facing ever-mounting external and internal challenges, has once again found itself in turmoil with party founder Imran Khan's sister Aleema Khan getting involved in a heated exchange with party Chairman Barrister Gohar, sources told Geo News on Monday.
Apart from Barrister Gohar and Aleema, Khan's lawyer Faisal Chaudhry as well as Mashal Yousafzai, the spokesperson of Khan's wife Bushra Bibi, were also involved in the verbal spat during their presence at Adiala jail to attend the new Toshakhana case hearing.
Sources say that the discord among PTI leaders was regarding the November 24 protest — which took place on the call of the incarcerated PTI founder.
Bushra Bibi reportedly briefed the PTI founder on the protest, following which a discussion on the matter began within the courtroom.
During the briefing, Bushra Bibi informed the PTI founder that no significant mobilisation had occurred from Punjab for the protest.
Barrister Gohar intervened, saying that 5,000 individuals from Punjab had been arrested. He further briefed the PTI founder about the crackdown and mass arrests targeting the party in Punjab.
Aleema then questioned Chaudhry about the lack of access to newspapers and other facilities for the PTI founder.
In response, the lawyer said that he was doing everything within his capacity and raised concerns about why senior party officials were not actively approaching the court.
Khan's sister also inquired about the monitoring commission previously set up by the Islamabad High Court.
Interjecting, Yousafzai accused Chaudhry of obstructing the commission's work, to which he replied that the commission was court-mandated and beyond his influence.
Barrister Gohar suggested that certain decisions should be left to the party's leadership to avoid confusion. He added that excessive debates on protests and sacrifices could lead to disorder.
The PTI founder attributed public hesitation in Punjab to authoritarian actions in the region. He also highlighted that 200 participants of the D-Chowk protest remained missing.
This was the second time in less than 10 days that their spat took place at Adiala. On December 5, Aleema had confronted Barrister Gohar as well as Barrister Salman Akram Raja over claims related to deaths during the party's protests in the capital.
Moreover, Gohar had also two days back refuted Aleema's claim about being offered her brother and party founder Khan's immediate release.
In a telephonic conversation with Geo News, Barrister Gohar said that the talk of releasing the PTI founder within 20 days in exchange for ending the sit-in was "wrong" — a claim that Aleema had made.
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