PTI internal rifts deepen

ISLAMABAD: Differences in Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) over the issue of meeting party’s founding chairman Imran Khan have taken a serious turn as the senior leadership is locked in a war of words. According to sources, the names of Barrister Gohar and Ali Zafar were not included in the list given to Adiala jail authorities. However, both met the founder chairman. Some senior PTI members raised objections to the meeting of Barrister Gohar and Ali Zafar.

PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan Wednesday expressed serious reservations about the use of word ‘Manzoor-e-Nazar’ (favorite). During a conversation with the media here at the Parliament House, he said that Ali Zafar is an honest man and the PTI founder has confidence in everyone. “I want to unite the party, even if I have to leave the position, I express serious reservations about the word Manzoor-e-Nazar,” he stressed.

Later, Senator Ali Zafar, who is the Leader of Opposition in the Senate, expressed regret over the ‘allegations’ of Salman Akram Raja. Talking to the media outside the Islamabad High Court, PTI lawmaker said that Salman Akram Raja’s comments regarding the meeting with the founder of the PTI have created a new controversy. He expressed regrets and said that the party founder has directed (him) to take the matter of permission for the meeting to the Supreme Court.

Senator Ali Zafar said that everyone had the right to meet Imran Khan. The former prime minister has expressed his willingness to talk to anyone in the interest of the country, he pointed out.

Earlier, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja, while talking to journalists at the Islamabad High Court, said that it was decided with everyone’s consent that he would give six names of lawyers, whereas on Tuesday the names of the six lawyers he gave were not allowed as only manzoor-e-nazar were allowed to meet the party chairman.

The PTI secretary general said that Imran Khan had not called anyone on Tuesday as he had spoken to the family and they were fine. Salman Akram made it clear that in the future, anyone whose name was not on the list should not meet him (party founder).

According to the party sources, there has been a hot exchange of words between PTI Chairman and General Secretary Tuesday at the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa House, Islamabad, after the party leadership returned from the Adiala jail. It was learnt that efforts have been made by some party leaders for reconciliation between the two.

Separately, Gohar said Wednesday that the party founder and ex-premier Imran has backed calls for making Pakistan a ‘hard state’ and emphasized the importance of ensuring equal justice for all citizens. Speaking to Geo News, he quoted Imran as saying that a ‘hard state’ would guarantee the rule of law and uniform implementation of justice. He added the founder chairman emphasized that Pakistan should not remain a soft state, where the law is not consistently upheld.

Meanwhile, ousted PTI leader and sitting MNA Sher Afzal Marwat has revealed that there were three pressure groups in the party, in which the PTI’s social media played an important role and presented its narrative.

Talking to Geo News, Marwat explained that there were currently three pressure groups in the PTI, and one was the media, the party’s media, especially Youtubers, created the narrative for the party to make dollars, while the party and Khan Sahib (Imran) had to pay the price in Pakistan.

He alleged that this media had a big role in creating differences and chaos in the PTI. He continued that the second big group that he believes was that the KP leadership that was being victimised here at the behest of the people of Punjab. “The reason for this is that only in Pakhtunkhwa there is a PTI organization, while in the other three provinces there is no party organization,” he noted.

On the question on negotiations with the establishment, Mawat said that PTI and the establishment have been engaged three times but the party could not take advantage of the engagement. He added the party is again hoping for negotiations with the establishment but the establishment has not shown seriousness this time.

About the narrative of Asad Qaiser being declared a conspirator in the party, he said that he does not agree that Asad Qaiser is a conspirator. “The party founder is being misguided about Ali Amin Gandapur so that maximum damage can be done to him,” he believed.

On the question of threat to the chair of the KP chief minister, Marwat said that anything can happen in PTI at any time, decisions are made on the basis of hearsay.