LAHORE:
Pakistan Tehreek-E-Insaf (PTI) faced a new leadership shake on Tuesday when Secretary General Salman Akram Raja announced his resignation, while Senior leader Hammad Azhar withdrew from playing the next By-Election of Lahore.
Taking X, Raja said an incident had forced him to resign. “My life is an open book. None of my actions contradicts any principle. I do not accept the commitment of intellectual and economic integrity. Tomorrow I will renounce the position requesting Imran,” he published.
He said he was not a traditional politician, but that he had remained firm despite internal and external pressures. “We endure subtle attacks, we accept economic uncertainty and face false cases, but I do not regret anything. I am not afraid of jail,” Raja said, highlighting his role in key cases such as Tyrian, Iddat, Cifre, Military Courts and Disputes of Reserved Seats.
Raja revealed that he had asked Imran, through lawyer Ali Bukhari, to allow him to concentrate on legal battles before, but had decreased.
Meanwhile, Azhar, son of the veteran veteran politician Mian Azhar, retired from the Na-129 contest, payrolling his cousin Chaudhry Arsalan Zaheer as a family candidate.
Zaheer, former president of the Fruit and Vegetable Market Committee of Lahore, has worked for a long time together with the Azhar family in electoral campaigns.
Azhar explained that his retirement was due to personal limitations and legal vulnerabilities, including cases linked to the disturbances of May 9. He said that Zaheer’s clean legal record minimized disqualification risks, while his sister would supervise campaign operations.
Party experts said that PTI’s leadership had given Azhar discretion when choosing the candidate, although his legal problems played a decisive role.
