Imran Khan warned of snakes in the grass around him

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman PTI Imran Khan has been warned in a recent high-level party meeting to be aware of ‘snakes in the grass’ surrounding him.

Khan was told in the meeting that these snakes in the grass, for their vested political interest, are pushing the PTI chairman to have a confrontation with the institution of the Army.

The PTI sources said that Pervez Khattak and Faisal Vawda minced no words in disapproving the party policy of criticising the military establishment and advised Imran Khan to review the policy in the best interest of the party, the institution of Army and the country.

These sources said that Vawda was really vocal and argued with Khan, who told Vawda that he was being misguided by someone. Vawda said that he was not a child that he was being misguided. He told Khan that he was being surrounded by some snakes in the grass who are actually conspiring to get him disqualified to pave the way for their premiership.

Vawda said that some of these snakes are even sitting near Khan in the meeting where these arguments took place. The former prime minister was told that confrontation with the institution of Army would, in no manner, serve the interest of the PTI but will damage it besides hurting the institution and the country.

Khan was also told that some of those who poison him against the institutions and their top command, secretly meet the other side and assure them of their loyalty. Khan was warned that it was a conspiracy from within against him and the purpose was to get him disqualified.

These party sources said that generally some outsiders suspect Shah Mehmood Qureshi for such conduct but he was not so “cunning”. They say that Vawda’s reference was regarding another top leader of the PTI who shows entirely different posture in public and in front of Khan.

The PTI chairman reportedly said that he knew that there were snakes in the grass surrounding him but he did not agree, apparently, with Vawda who was really blunt in his views. Pervez Khattak, in another sitting, reportedly told Imran Khan that his policy of confronting the ‘neutrals’ is dangerous and needs to be reviewed and reversed.

Sources said that some PTI leaders from Karachi are pushing Khan to confront the establishment. There are also voices within the PTI, who advise the former premier to reconsider the party’s latest policy on Shahbaz Gill. After initial distancing of the PTI from Gill’s statement, some of the PTI leaders have started saying what wrong did Gill say.

Although, Pervez Khattak and Faisal Vawda are vocal in their views that they expressed before Khan, yet there are several other key leaders who are critical of the present party policy. They, however, rarely express their views in party meetings to avoid annoying Khan.

According to one of the PTI leaders, who is upset with the party policy, they try to get Khan soften his stance vis-a-vis the military establishment but the schemers again poison him.