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ISLAMABAD:
Days after scrapping its previous, larger body amid concerns over “leaks”, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Friday unveiled a reconstituted political committee, appointing 23 senior leaders, deliberately leaving out former Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur and including opposition alliance leaders.
The reshuffle was carried out on instructions from jailed party founder Imran Khan, who had directed general secretary Salman Akram Raja to form a new committee.
The notification, signed by Salman Akram Raja and Additional General Secretary Firdous Shamim Naqvi, states that the committee will serve as a central platform for all important policy decisions, policy formation and parliamentary direction for PTI’s representation in the National Assembly, Senate, provincial assemblies and the Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir assemblies.
The list includes PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan, SG Salman Akram Raja, Additional SG Firdous Shamim Naqvi and Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram.
Others inducted are KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, Senate Opposition Leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, National Assembly Opposition Leader Mahmood Khan Achakzai, outgoing National Assembly Opposition Leader Omar Ayub and outgoing Senate Opposition Leader Shibli Faraz.
Punjab Assembly opposition leader Moeen Qureshi, former opposition leader Malik Ahmad Khan Bhachar, overseas chapter secretary Sajjad Burki and provincial organizers Aliya Hamza, Junaid Akbar, Haleem Adil Sheikh and Dawood Kakar have also been included.
From AJK and GB, Khalid Khurshid and Sardar Qayyum Niazi have been added as representatives of special regions.
Former NA president and SG TTAP Asad Qaiser, NA chief Amir Dogar, Senate coordinator for opposition Fawzia Arshad, women’s wing president Kanwal Shauzab and minority wing president Lal Chand Malhi complete the 23-member lineup.
According to the notification, the committee will come into force immediately and will function as “the highest decision-making body of the party with respect to all decisions/functioning of the Party, its wings and other committees.”
It will also frame the policies to be followed by the PTI parliamentary parties. The document further notes that “further appointments or removals may be made as necessary” and that subcommittees will be formed with people possessing relevant experience, including officials from PTI wings.
The move follows a turbulent period within the opposition party, during which PTI founding president Imran Khan abruptly dissolved the political committee. Earlier this month, a message posted 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.
“Today I am dissolving the political committee of PTI. Party general secretary Salman Akram Raja has full authority to form a smaller committee to formulate a political strategy and implement it,” the tweet said.
The announcement coincided with Uzma Khan’s rare meeting with the party’s supremo jailed 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 hinted that the new setup would likely include provincial chiefs, opposition leaders and a select group of senior figures.
The shake-up also comes in the backdrop of the Election Commission of Pakistan’s repeated refusal to accept PTI’s intra-party elections. With no recognized officials or central committee, the political committee had effectively become the party’s operational command center.
PTI leader Asad Qaiser had earlier said that the idea of ​​dissolving the committee had been “floated many times” within the party, adding that one of the main frustrations was the frequent leaking 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 of provincial and central leaders, along with allied partners, would replace the political committee.
The move also aligns with a recently circulated internal memo aimed at consolidating organizational authority in General Secretary Salman Akram Raja’s office.
