Says PTI founder has reiterated that sovereignty of people must take precedence over his personal comfort
PTI Central Secretary General Salman Akram Raja. SCREENGRAB
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Central Secretary General Salman Akram Raja on Thursday said that party founder Imran Khan has directed its leadership to remain steadfast in its ideology and principles, stressing that the party should not compromise on its stance for political gains.
Lawyers representing the PTI met Imran on November 11, a day after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) ordered authorities to facilitate the meeting. The permission for the meeting was granted after Barrister Salman Safdar and Latif Khosa had argued that they could not proceed with arguments in the ongoing appeals in the £190 million case without first meeting their clients.
Speaking to a local television programme, Capital Talk, Raja said Imran had conveyed his message to party leaders through Safdar, urging them to stand firm on the party’s ideology.
Raja acknowledged that a small group within the PTI was unhappy with him, believing that he was too ideological and placed excessive emphasis on principles.
“There is a section or a small group in the party that is unhappy with me. It believes I am too ideological and talk about principles more than necessary. They think we should seize the opportunities available to us at this time, whether it concerns the 28th Amendment or something else, and find a way forward,” he said.
However, Raja said Imran’s message was the opposite.
“His message to me is entirely different. We have to find room for ourselves based on principles and move forward. We are a political party, but we must not compromise on our principles,” he said.
Quoting Imran, Raja said the PTI founder had described Allama Nasir and Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) chief Mahmood Khan Achakzai as people who would neither bow down nor be bought.
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“Imran Khan said he had appointed them after careful consideration and that the positions assigned to them reflected their wisdom and judgement,” Raja said.
He added that he, too, had received instructions to remain steadfast in the party’s ideology.
“Whatever the nature of the matter, we have to act on Khan sahib’s instructions. He has also given directions regarding discussions on provinces, both after yesterday’s meeting and before it,” he said.
Raja said Imran was unwilling to abandon his principles, commitment to democracy or vision of public welfare under any circumstances, adding that the wishes of people in Sindh, Balochistan, Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir mattered to him.
“For Imran Khan, the sovereignty of the people comes first. His personal comfort is of no importance to him,” Raja said, adding that the founder’s fundamental message was that the party must not bow down.
Health concerns
Speaking about concerns over Imran’s health, Raja said party members were deeply worried as his blood pressure remained uncontrolled and had reached 193 on Saturday.
Asked whether Safdar’s delivery of a political message could lead to restrictions on future meetings with the PTI founder, Raja said the conversation involving Safdar and senior lawyer Latif Khosa had not been held secretly.
“The discussion was not concealed. There were microphones there, and the entire proceedings were being recorded,” he said.
Raja said the three-hour conversation had taken place without interruption and covered several matters. He added that Khosa had made several statements after the meeting, which were available on social media.
He said some remarks made by Safdar differed from those made by Khosa, prompting the former to clarify matters through a conversation after Khosa’s statements.
New provinces
On the debate over the creation of new provinces, Raja said Imran had always supported the establishment of additional administrative units.
However, he said the PTI founder wanted clarity on the background to the proposal, the process through which new provinces would be created and how public opinion in the areas concerned would be obtained transparently.
Raja expressed reservations about holding a referendum, saying the term had acquired negative connotations because of past referendums held by military rulers Ziaul Haq and Pervez Musharraf.
He said those concerns would have to be addressed before the party could support such an exercise.
“We will not rush into becoming part of a process that distorts history and for which history may hold us responsible,” he said.
