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Fawad Chaudhry. PHOTO: FILE
LAHORE:
Top PTI leaders who were part of the party’s initial leadership are gearing up to revive the political movement under the leadership of incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan, sources said on Friday.
According to insiders, personalities such as Fawad Chaudhry, Asad Umar, Imran Ismail, Ali Zaidi, Mahmood Moulvi and Sibtain Khan are expected to lead the initiative once released.
The group also plans to meet Imran Khan to formally seek his approval before launching the campaign.
Sources said the veteran leaders intended to bring in other experienced political figures from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh. “The movement will really accelerate after the release of Shah Mahmood Qureshi, when the old guard will return to active political action,” said a source.
Members of the erstwhile PTI leadership reportedly felt that the current leadership “cannot sideline” the party founder, saying they will continue to operate as per Imran’s directives.
A day earlier, media reported that another intra-party feud – this time over PTI leadership in central Punjab – had erupted over social media platform
In a series of revealing tweets on Thursday, General Secretary Salman Akram Raja denounced those who were “conspiring against him” and recalled that Mr Khan had personally instructed him to deliver messages from Adiala prison.
Although he did not explain the issue in question, a quick look at his previous tweets and messages posted by other PTI leaders laid bare the dispute.
The controversy centers on the ouster of PTI Central Punjab president Ahmad Chattha and general secretary Bilal Ejaz, who were removed from office on instructions allegedly conveyed by Imran Khan on October 16, when he met lawyer Gohar Ali Khan and Salman Akram Raja in Adiala jail.
Mr Chattha was one of the men shot and injured in Wazirabad when Imran Khan’s container was targeted during a rally in 2022.
A notification, issued the same day by PTI Punjab chief organizer Aliya Hamza, had announced Chattha’s removal. He was to be replaced by Ali Imtiaz Warraich.
However, after the October 16 meeting, Raja had tweeted that the party founder had not ordered any changes in the Punjab hierarchy in his presence, adding that they would seek confirmation of this decision from Khan in their next meeting.
