RAWALPINDI: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Salman Akram Raja on Tuesday flatly refused to recognise Barrister Gohar Ali Khan as the party’s chairman, declaring that “Imran Khan is the chairman of PTI — and no one else”.
Speaking to reporters at the Gorakhpur checkpoint in Rawalpindi, a designated day for meetings with the incarcerated PTI founder at Adiala Jail, Raja said the Election Commission’s treatment of PTI amounted to “coercive rule-making”. He was responding to questions about Barrister Gohar’s marginalisation and speculation over a new party head.
Heavy police deployment was witnessed as PTI workers gathered at multiple checkpoints after authorities blocked all routes leading to Adiala Jail.
Meanwhile, Barrister Gohar Ali Khan announced a nationwide shutdown and wheel-jam strike on February 8, with protests planned across the country. Addressing the media at the Dahgal checkpoint, he said the continued denial of meetings between the PTI founder, his family and lawyers was obstructing any political normalisation.
“If negotiations are reduced to a meeting of ‘five elders’, then it is not negotiations at all,” Gohar said, questioning how talks could move forward when court-ordered meetings were not being allowed. He added that PTI leaders had been returning every Tuesday without meeting Imran Khan for over a month.
Clarifying his earlier remarks about “begging”, Gohar said his words had been misconstrued. “When meetings are denied despite court orders, SOPs and the law, it amounts to begging,” he said, adding that the party leadership had effectively been cut off from its founder since February last year.
The last recorded meeting with Imran Khan was held on December 2, when his sister Dr Uzma Khanum met him for 37 minutes. She later told reporters that the former prime minister was in good health and recovering.
Gohar said PTI was paying a “heavy price” for attempting to stabilise the political situation, while the other side continued to harden its stance. He stressed that the party’s real strength lay in its workers, who had endured severe state pressure.
Addressing internal party matters, Gohar said PTI would not participate in a conference organised by Imran Ismail, citing reservations, but added he avoided commenting publicly on internal disputes. He maintained that all party committees were bound by the PTI founder’s directives, including those related to the street movement.
Separately, Raja rejected suggestions that Aleema Khan, despite holding no formal party position, was answerable to PTI leaders. He said decisions attributed to her — including remarks about negotiations — were, in fact, orders from Imran Khan himself.
The political impasse persists despite Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s offer of dialogue earlier this month. Although the Tehreek-e-Tahafuz-e-Aeen Pakistan (TTAP) accepted the offer on December 24, no formal engagement has followed, leaving the process stalled.
As the allotted time for meetings at Adiala Jail expired without permission being granted, Imran Khan’s sisters — Aleema Khan, Noreen Niazi and Uzma Khan — along with PTI leaders and workers, continued a sit-in at Factory Naka. Aleema alleged that Imran Khan was being kept in prolonged solitary confinement and said the restrictions reflected fear of his political influence.
The protest remains ongoing amid tight security, underscoring deepening tensions between PTI and the government as avenues for dialogue remain blocked.
