PTI Central General Secretary Salman Akram Raja addresses a press conference on Sunday. SCREENSHOT
LAHORE:
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is grappling with escalating internal conflicts, apparently rooted in a leadership crisis, with its general secretary emerging as the latest target for criticism within the party.
Amid growing unease, he assured his detractors that he would ask the incarcerated party founder to relieve him of his duties, according to two party leaders holding organizational portfolios, one in Punjab and the other at the Centre.
As the aggressive posture of the PTI’s real decision-makers has brought the party to a near breaking point, a crisis of confidence has surfaced in its ranks.
Several leaders told The Express PK Press Club that resistance was no longer seen as a viable option for the party.
However, confusion remains over whether this option should be abandoned altogether, as some believe the threat of mass resistance must remain intact to provide leverage whenever the party decides to sit at the table with the powers that be.
These divergent strategic approaches led many in the party to conclude that general secretary Salman Akram Raja was not living up to expectations, especially given his polite and composed demeanor.
According to a Punjab party official, Raja was confronted by some members of an internal group who demanded his resignation over what they described as his inability to lead the party effectively.
Responding to criticism, the source said Raja assured his detractors that he would take the matter to party founder Imran Khan and ask him to bring in a youth to relieve him of the charge so that he could refocus on his legal practice, which had suffered due to his political commitments.
The source further claimed that Raja, who enjoys the full support of Aleema Khan, Imran Khan’s sister, has no experience in running a political party, let alone coming out of a crisis. “Their plan is legal firefighting, which will get the party nowhere,” the source said.
PTI central spokesperson Sheikh Waqas Akram, however, rejected the idea of any call for the resignation of the general secretary.
Speaking to The Express PK Press Club, he said isolated voices of former officials should not be misconstrued as internal conflicts, adding that the entire leadership was operating as per the directives of party founder Imran Khan.
A senior party leader and a key official endorsed Sheikh Waqas Akram’s claim that the WhatsApp altercation was an isolated incident.
However, he noted that sentiment against the acting president and secretary-general existed internally, even though such demands had not yet been verbalized. He acknowledged that Raja’s legal practice had suffered since he joined the party, saying his sacrifices should not be overlooked.
“He is a loyalist, and people like him are an asset in any party,” the leader said, adding that Raja lacked the political acumen to create the much-needed room for maneuver in the party.
He further alleged that the general secretary himself was being “straitjacketed” by Imran Khan’s sisters, who wanted to retain control of party affairs until something went wrong, in which case they quickly shifted the burden to the leadership.
He said resistance was no longer an option for the party and those who sought to continue on such a path would be doing it a great disservice.
The leaders, he added, did not take KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi’s announcement of a “liberation force” lightly, fearing that it would put the party back on a collision course with the powers that be.
According to him, this reflection led to submitting the idea for approval by leaders.
He added that Afridi also sought to control the party’s youth force, which is why he floated the idea of creating a parallel body within the party for young members – a decision he could not make independently.
Another PTI leader said that internally, the party was not even happy with the control given to the Tehreek-e-Tahafuz-e-Ayin-e-Pakistan (TTAP), as it amounted to sidelining those who had given “their blood and sweat” for the party.
“What did people like Omer Ayub get from all the sacrifices he made for the party?” he asked, pointing out that despite state brutality, Ayub had also been labeled a traitor internally.
He said PTI, as a political party, should not operate according to the whims of social media supporters.
