Infighting reports swirl around PTI

ISLAMABAD: A day after Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Secretary General Omar Ayub quit the key party position, the PTI Parliamentary Party Friday expressed complete confidence in him and unanimously resolved that his resignation may not be accepted. In a meeting held here at the Parliament House, the party unanimously passed a resolution and expressed complete confidence in Omar Ayub Khan as the PTI secretary general amid reports of increasing power politics, which the party denies completely.

Omar Ayub, who is the Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly, through a message on his social media account, announced his resignation on Thursday and said there would be more changes in the party’s organisational structure.

However, the PTI parliamentary party, through a resolution, rejected the resignation and rejected reports about a so-called ‘forward bloc’, adding all were united under the leadership of Imran Khan.

Nevertheless, insiders present a different picture and claim that in the parliamentary party huddle, the lawmakers openly discussed the tug-of-war and differences in the party, in the presence of Omar Ayub Khan and PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan.

They said the party’s legislators expressed concerns about the performance of the leadership in given difficult situation, which gets more challenging with diverse views on future party cadres’ representatives. And, the latest example was of the resignation of Omar Ayub, which triggered efforts to get installed a person from Punjab as the PTI secretary general.

One probable can be Sheikh Waqas Akram from Jhang to replace Omar Ayub, who hails from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa while Barrister Gohar is also from the same province.

“We are the largest political party and difference of opinion does surface, being a democratic way of thinking. We intend to settle matters instead of seeking the incarcerated leader’s intervention,” said a senior party leader, when contacted for his comment. He requested not to be identified here.

He agreed to the fact that it was decided to watch out for those who could leak any information concerning a party meeting.

Moreover, some interviews conducted these days also suggest all is not well within the party. For instance, in his recent interview, ex-federal minister and erstwhile senior vice-president Fawad Chaudhry unleashed lethal attack on the present PTI leadership, saying their political stature was so small.

He did not agree to a question that the party does not own him and he insisted, “The stature of present leadership is so small that they fear, if people with prominence came in, they may be reduced merely to be rats. I had two meeting with Imran Khan, who fully owns me”.

Fawad also said the current PTI leadership did not want Imran Khan to come out of jail because they are afraid that if he comes out, Asad Umar, Imran Ismail, Fawad Chaudhry and Ali Zaidi would take over the leadership again and their (current leadership) intervention in the party would end.

He also claimed that the present leadership had no role and rendered no sacrifices for the party and referred to PTI’s Information Secretary Raoof Hasan, questioning his contribution to the party. He alleged that on receiving a notice, he got lifted the families of entire social media team.

“There is no case against him and he was never arrested, and has not remained in jail for a single day,” Fawad continued his attack on Raoof, who, in an interview to a private TV channel, hit back at him.

The party’s information secretary said that there would have been files against him, had he also looted PTV and PID, and claimed to be knowing all as special assistant to PM and sitting in the Ministry of Information.

“I have seen things happening in front of me, while sitting in the ministry as the SAPM,” Raoof retorted and added that no talks would be held with the party runaways.

Fawad also targeted Shibli Faraz, who is now Leader of Opposition in the Senate and said none questioned him when he remained in his residence for six months and when returned, he became leader of opposition. He claimed that the present leadership had given no sacrifices for the party.

During a chat with a reporter, when Shibli was asked for his comment on Fawad’s remarks against him, he replied, “What should I reply to the talk of a fugitive”.

Meanwhile, as Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s talks are in advance stage with Maulana Fazlur Rehman, the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) chief Sahibzada Hamid Raza has opposed alliance with the Maulana’s JUIF.

Talking to Geo News, he explained that Omar Ayub had resigned from the party post to face personal cases and the PTI is doing as per the will of the founder Imran Khan.

He suggested to the government to give time regarding freeing of Imran Khan and if they don’t release the PTI founder by that time, they should resign.

Hamid Raza, who contested elections as independent, backed by PTI, contended that in principle reserved seats should be given to the Sunni Ittehad Council, if they don’t give us reserved seats, they may allot these to even Bharatiya Janata Party.

He believed that (senior party member) Sher Afzal Marwat should not have demanded the resignation of Shibli Faraz on the media: if Marwat had any reservations, he should have spoken within the party.

Hamid Raza further said that weekly briefings are given to founder PTI and weekly instructions are taken from him. “If people want us to take guns in our hands, it is impossible, as resorting to violence is not our policy,” he maintained.

Meanwhile, PTI Information Secretary Raoof Hasan said that Omar Ayub’s decision to resign was his personal: there are different opinions in the party and leaders express their opinion in the core committee and the political committee.

Talking in Geo News’ programme ‘Naya Pakistan’, he said that PTI could not be broken in two years while those who left the party have been launched against PTI. Raoof Hasan said that the founder PTI has instructed that those who left the party should not be engaged as those who have left the party in difficult times are fugitives.

Meanwhile, PTI senior leader Hamid Khan said that Fawad Chaudhry has no right to return to the party.

Speaking in Geo News programme ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Ke Saath’, he contended that Imran Ismail, Fawad Chaudhry had joined the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party which was formed from within the party to harm the party and it was joined by Fawad and Imran Ismail.

Hamid Khan said that there are differences and criticism in every party and that Omar Ayub’s resignation is not due to mutual differences. “Fawad Chaudhry is talking like this, (but) he left the party during difficult times and is still making statements against the party on someone’s cue,” he claimed.