Fawad says PTI leadership doesn’t want Imran freed

ISLAMABAD: Former federal minister Fawad Chaudhry, who met Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Friday at the Pakistan Kidney and Liver Institute (PKLI) along with senior politicians Imran Ismail and Maulvi Mahmood, has alleged that the current PTI leadership does not want Imran Khan to be released from jail.

This unexpected meeting has stirred a new debate within the PTI, which is already grappling with internal discord. Just a day earlier, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja and senior leader Aliya Hamza had engaged in a public spat on social media.

Following the meeting, Fawad posted a pointed message on X (formerly Twitter), saying, “We have not only met Shah Mehmood but also the leaders in Kot Lakhpat Jail.” He stated that while the entire party wants Imran Khan’s release, “only those who wish to keep him imprisoned are making the atmosphere bitter because they want their leadership to continue shining.”

Fawad further noted that Shah Mehmood Qureshi has been unwell and hospitalized for several days. “If the current PTI leadership cannot go to see him, insisting that others should not visit him either is a strange logic,” he remarked.

Meanwhile, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan clarified on Friday that there are currently no talks underway between PTI, the federal government, or the military leadership. Denying reports of any negotiations, he lamented that political disputes in the country were not being resolved through political means.

Speaking during a private TV talk show, Gohar recalled previous efforts at dialogue that yielded no results. “When we said in March 2024 that our mandate had been stolen, Imran Khan formed a committee for talks. But when the dialogue could not take place, people started claiming that the PTI only wanted to negotiate with the establishment,” he said.

He added that PTI’s founder had asked Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party chief Mahmood Khan Achakzai to convey any political offer for consideration. “Another committee was formed on November 26, but talks could not proceed because the government did not take the matter seriously,” he explained.

Gohar continued, “Even when both sides formed committees after November 26, we could not meet for two weeks, and later, they showed no interest in engaging with us. We did not want to sit for a photo-op meeting; we wanted meaningful dialogue to resolve the country’s political crisis for the sake of democracy and parliament. Unfortunately, that did not happen.”

Commenting on military operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gohar said the PTI had organized several all-party conferences on the issue — in January, July, and September — to build consensus. He clarified that while PTI supports intelligence-based operations, “it is not right to harm civilians or politicize such actions.”

He also expressed concern for those displaced during earlier operations, noting that “many have still not been able to rebuild their homes to this day.” He said that it is common for people to visit and inquire about the health of senior political figures, especially when they are in jail. “They had visited him and other leaders previously as well,” he noted. “Qureshi Sahib is one of the most loyal companions of Khan Sahib, and we are doing our best to raise our voice for Khan Sahib’s release on every platform. We will continue to do so until he and his wife are freed.”