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ISLAMABAD:
Days after scrapping its previous, larger body over concerns over “leaks”, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Friday unveiled a reconstituted political committee, naming 23 senior leaders while leaving out former Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur and including leaders from the opposition alliance.
The reorganization was carried out on the instructions of jailed party founder Imran Khan, who had asked general secretary Salman Akram Raja to form a new committee.
The notification, signed by Salman Akram Raja and additional general secretary Firdous Shamim Naqvi, said the committee will serve as the central platform for all major political decisions, policy making and parliamentary leadership for the PTI’s representation in the National Assembly, Senate, provincial assemblies and the assemblies of Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
The list includes PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan, SG Salman Akram Raja, Additional SG Firdous Shamim Naqvi and Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram.
The other inductees are KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, Leader of Opposition in Senate Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, Leader of Opposition in National Assembly Mahmood Khan Achakzai, outgoing Leader of Opposition in NA Omar Ayub and outgoing Leader of Opposition in Senate Shibli Faraz.
Punjab Assembly Opposition Leader Moeen Qureshi, former Opposition Leader Malik Ahmad Khan Bhachar, Overseas Branch Secretary Sajjad Burki and provincial organizers Aliya Hamza, Junaid Akbar, Haleem Adil Sheikh and Dawood Kakar were also included.
From AJK and GB, Khalid Khurshid and Sardar Qayyum Niazi were added as representatives of the special regions.
Former NA president and SG TTAP Asad Qaiser, NA chief whip Amir Dogar, opposition senatorial coordinator Fawzia Arshad, women’s wing president Kanwal Shauzab and minority wing president Lal Chand Malhi complete the list of 23 members.
According to the notification, the committee will come into effect immediately and function as the “supreme decision-making body of the party in respect of all decisions/functioning of the Party, its wings and other committees”.
It will also define the policies that will be followed by the PTI parliamentary parties. The document further notes that “further appointments or deletions may be made as necessary” and that subcommittees will be formed with individuals with relevant expertise, including members of PTI wing offices.
The move follows a period of turmoil within the opposition party, during which PTI founding president Imran Khan abruptly dissolved the political committee. Earlier this month, a post on his X account announced that a smaller committee would replace the existing body and that Salman Akram Raja had been tasked with overseeing its reconstitution.
“I am today dissolving the PTI Political Committee. Party General Secretary Salman Akram Raja has full authority to form a smaller committee to formulate political strategy and implement it,” the tweet said.
The announcement coincided with Uzma Khan’s rare meeting with the party leader imprisoned in Adiala jail after weeks of failed attempts.
PTI leaders later explained that the current political committee would be replaced by a more compact body. They had suggested that the new configuration would likely include provincial leaders, opposition leaders and a select group of senior officials.
The restructuring also comes in the backdrop of the Election Commission of Pakistan’s repeated refusal to accept PTI’s intra-party elections. Without recognized leaders or a central committee, the political committee had effectively become the operational command center of the party.
Senior PTI leader Asad Qaiser had earlier said the idea of disbanding the committee had been “raised several times” within the party, adding that a major frustration lay in frequent leaks of its internal decisions. He added that the timing was less important than the fact that the proposal had been under consideration for months.
He said a coordination committee comprising provincial and central leaders, as well as allied partners, would replace the political committee.
The move also aligns with a recently circulated internal memo aimed at consolidating organizational authority within General Secretary Salman Akram Raja’s office.
