The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) suffered a major setback after two key figures Salman Akram Raja and Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) Chairman Sahibzada Hamid Raza resigned from key posts amid reports of internal rifts in the party leadership. .
The resignations of senior PTI leaders came after the sudden “postponement” of the Imran Khan-founded party’s much-hyped “Do or Die” protest in Islamabad on Wednesday morning, which saw crackdowns by law enforcement agencies. After Down, about 1,000 people were involved. Supporters are being arrested.
Sources said Geo News That the SIC chief has also decided to quit his National Assembly membership and will formally resign after meeting PTI founder Imran Khan.
Senior PTI leader Rauf Hassan said while talking Geo News Confirming the development in the ‘Capital Talk’ program on Thursday, the party’s political committee will discuss the resignation of Raja and Raza and take a final decision.
He elaborated that PTI Secretary General did not give any reason for his resignation. However, he will continue to serve as the head of the former ruling party’s legal committee.
Hasan added that despite his resignation, Raja still enjoys “tremendous support” from party leaders.
In a detailed post on X earlier today, the SIC chairman announced his departure from PTI’s political and core committees, making it clear that this would not mean a departure from the party founded by Imran Khan.
He made it clear that the SIC’s alliance with the former ruling party would continue and resigned from the said committee “to stay out of PTI’s internal conflicts”.
Regardless of whether the PTI founder accepts or rejects his resignation, Raza vowed to stand firm with the former prime minister.
Hassan, however, expressed hope on the Today show that Raza would also withdraw his resignation.
Responding to a question on “PTI ban”, Hasan said banning the former ruling party from politics was not a piece of cake.
He was referring to a resolution passed by the Balochistan Assembly earlier today, calling for a ban on the PTI after the recent “violence” in the three-day protest.
Communications and Constructions Minister Mir Saleem Ahmad Khosa along with provincial ministers Mir Sadiq Imrani, Mir Asim Kurd Gilo, Rahila Hamid Khan Durrani, Bakht Muhammad Kakar and parliamentary secretaries presented a joint resolution in the assembly on PTI’s protest and violent actions. .
However, the opposition staged a walkout protesting against the misbehavior of the former ruling party.
Hasan, head of PTI’s policy think tank, said his party would take legal action against any move to ban the political party.
The politician urged the federal government to resolve political disputes through dialogue, which was supported by the PTI founder a few days ago.
PTI leadership adding to Khan’s woes: Yousafzai
Earlier today, PTI leader and former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister Shaukat Yousafzai criticized the party leadership for the mismanagement of the Islamabad march, saying that Khan’s problems are increasing due to the mistakes of the party leadership.
“All responsibility for this lies with the central leadership,” the PTI leader said in a statement.
Yousafzai said that Allah gave him a great opportunity which he wasted. He added that if they had gone ahead in consultation with each other, the results would have been different today.
To a question, he replied that Bushra Bibi was right to take to the streets for her husband’s release from jail. “The question is, what did the rest of the leadership do? Where was the central leadership?” he asked.
It should be noted that earlier Yousafzai had also questioned the leadership of Barrister Gauhar Khan and Salman Akram Raja.
He also asked that where was Sher Afzal Marwat and the leadership of Punjab during the protest?
In a statement to The News on Thursday, Yousafzai expressed his dismay, saying: “Gandapur has been made the scapegoat. [Imran] Khan had accepted Sangjani’s word, but Bushra’s [Bibi] Insistence on D Chowk cost the party dearly.”
He said that the party will be led by Bushra Bibi or leadership? If the leadership does not have the authority, they should resign. The D Chowk incident is very sad.
The party leadership, especially PTI founder Khan’s wife Bushra and Chief Minister Gandapur, are facing heavy criticism for their decision to go ahead with the protest at D Chowk despite Khan’s agreement to hold a rally in Sangjani.