• Salman Akram Raja tasked with putting together ‘smaller body’, which will also include allies
• PTI founder ‘heartbroken’ over lawmakers’ attendance at NDU workshop
ISLAMABAD: Amid disagreements within the opposition party, PTI founding chairman Imran Khan has dissolved the party’s political committee in his first move after weeks of being incommunicado.
A tweet posted on his X account, which the ex-prime minister does not have access to while incarcerated, said a smaller committee would replace the existing body and put Salman Akram Raja in charge of the reconstitution process.
“I am dissolving the political committee of the PTI today. Party’s Secretary General Salman Akram Raja has full authority to form a smaller committee to formulate a political strategy and implement it,” the tweet based on the account of the Tuesday meeting said.
It may be noted that a day earlier, Uzma Khan met her brother in prison after weeks of effort.
PTI Information Secretary Sheikh Waqqas Akram told Dawn the political committee, comprising about 40 members, would be replaced by a smaller body. been resolved, and a committee having fewer members will replace it. He said the new committee most likely will include provincial heads, leaders of the opposition, and a few other members.
Since the PTI’s intra-party elections have been repeatedly rejected by the Election Commission of Pakistan, the party does not have an elected leadership structure in the form of a core committee, and the day-to-day functions of the party are being handled by the political committee.
Senior PTI leader Asad Qaiser said the proposal for the dissolution of the political committee had been floated many a time by the members. He said one of the reasons for its dissolution was that its decisions were being leaked, adding that the timing of the decision did not matter since the proposal had been under consideration for some time. He said a coordination committee, comprising the provincial and central leaders as well as the allies, will be established instead.
It may be noted that an internal memo by the party was issued recently, which aimed to centralise control in the office of the secretary general, Salman Akram Raja.
The move had come under fire, as party insiders said it seemed to be an attempt to “end democracy and silence dissent” in the PTI.
Imran Khan also said Shahid Khattak should be appointed as the parliamentary leader in the National Assembly. It may be noted that Zartaj Gul, who was convicted earlier this year, was the parliamentary leader. Imran Khan also authorised Chief Minister Sohail Afridi to reorganise the body of the Insaf Lawyer Forum (ILF).
NDU meeting
The PTI founder also said there was no place for those who were fraternising with his opponents. “The participation of PTI people in the NDU workshop is shameful. On the one hand, we are enduring all kinds of hardships, and on the other hand, when our own people try to increase social ties with those who oppress us, I feel extremely hurt,” his tweet read.
This was an apparent reference to the presence of several PTI leaders at a workshop hosted by the National Defence University. The participation attracted flak on social media as well, particularly the “socialisation” at the event. KP spokesperson Shafiullah Jan, while speaking on a DawnNewsTV show, said these leaders participated in the NDU workshop after their names were forwarded by the parliamentary committee and the KP Assembly speaker.
He said in future, such decisions will be taken following the approval of the leadership.
