Imran’s letter was not specific to army chief, but an open letter: Raja

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Secretary General Salman Akram Raja said on Thursday Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf founder chairman Imran Khan did not write a letter to the army chief specifically and it was an open letter. The army chief, he pointed out, was addressed, but at the same time every citizen was addressed.

Talking to Geo News, he maintained that the letter was written to end oppression and fascism; the letter reached everyone who was supposed to receive it, and those who should have read the letter, have read it.

Salman Akram Raja said Sher Afzal Marwat was expelled from the party for different reasons and one of them was several leaders had complained against him. He said that the use of foul language was also one of the reasons for his being thrown out of the party.

He made it clear that Marwat was not expelled because of him. “We have no personal or ideological differences; several party leaders had complained against him. He used foul language and made statements contrary to party policy,” the PTI secretary general added. He contended that Marwat also made controversial statements regarding the Saudi government and the negotiation process. As a result, the PTI founder chairman decided to expel him from the party.

To a question regarding negotiations with the government, Salman Akram said the main reason for the failure of talks was that the government did not have the authority. “Our demand was that there should be a meeting in an open environment; we had a demand for formation of a commission regarding May 9 and Nov 26. In the name of negotiations, we were ridiculed, so going there, holding meetings were all fruitless and we did not move forward,” he noted.