PTI Central Secretary General Salman Akram Raja addresses a press conference on Sunday. SCREENGRAB
LAHORE:
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is grappling with escalating internal strife apparently rooted in a leadership crisis, with its general secretary emerging as the latest target of criticism from within the party.
Amid growing unease, he has reportedly assured detractors that he would request the party’s incarcerated founder to relieve him of his charge, according to two party leaders holding organisational portfolios, one in Punjab and the other at the Centre.
With the PTI’s actual decision-makers’ aggressive posturing having brought the party to a near breaking point, a crisis of trust has surfaced across its ranks and file.
Several leaders told The Express Tribune that resistance was no longer seen as a viable option for the party.
However, confusion persists over whether the option should be abandoned entirely, as some believe the threat of mass resistance must remain intact to provide leverage whenever the party decides to sit across the table with the powers that be.
These divergent strategic approaches have led many within the party to conclude that General Secretary Salman Akram Raja was not living up to expectations, particularly given his polite and composed demeanour.
According to a party office-bearer from Punjab, Raja was confronted by some members of an internal group who demanded his resignation over what they described as his failure to lead the party effectively.
Responding to the criticism, the source said Raja assured his detractors that he would place the matter before party founder Imran Khan and request him to bring in someone from the 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 full support from Aleema Khan, Imran Khan’s sister, has no experience in running a political party, let alone steering it out of a crisis. “Their plan is legal firefighting, which is going to take the party nowhere,” the source said.
PTI’s Central Spokesperson Sheikh Waqas Akram, however, rejected the notion of any calls for the general secretary’s resignation.
Talking to The Express Tribune, he said that isolated voices of estranged office-bearers should not be construed as internal strife, adding that the entire leadership was operating in accordance with the guidelines of party founder Imran Khan.
A senior party leader and key office-bearer endorsed Sheikh Waqas Akram’s assertion that the WhatsApp altercation was an isolated incident.
However, he noted that sentiment against both the acting chairman and the general secretary existed internally, even if such demands had not yet been verbalised. He acknowledged that Raja’s legal practice had suffered since joining 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 required to create the much-needed elbow room for the party.
He further alleged that the general secretary himself was “straitjacketed” by Imran Khan’s sisters, who wanted to retain control of party affairs until something went wrong, at which point they were quick to shift the burden onto the leadership.
He said resistance was no longer an option for the party and that those seeking to pursue such a course would be doing it a great disservice.
The leadership, he added, did not take lightly Chief Minister K-P Sohail Afridi’s announcement of a ‘release force’, fearing it could place the party back on a collision course with the powers that be.
According to him, this thinking led to the idea being placed before the leadership for approval.
He added that Afridi also sought control over the party’s youth force, which was why he floated the idea of creating a parallel body within the party for young members – a decision he could not take independently.
Another PTI leader claimed that internally the party was not even pleased with the control granted 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 good did people like Omer Ayub get from all the sacrifices he made for the party?” he asked, noting that despite facing state brutality, Ayub had also been labelled a traitor internally.
He said PTI, as a political party, should not function according to the whims of social media supporters.
