Fawad Ch urges dialogue over discord, says reconciliation key to PTI’s revival

• Former minister calls for lowering political temperature, engaging rivals and establishment as confrontation ‘leads nowhere’
• Maintains Imran’s release possible only through political solution, not agitation, rejecting offshore social media provocations
• PTI distances itself from Fawad Ch’s words, insists ‘only Imran Khan’s word matters’

JHELUM/ISLAMABAD: Former Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Fawad Chaudhry on Saturday urged political forces to “bring down the temperature” and pursue dialogue over confrontation, saying engagement with other parties and the establishment was the only viable way to resolve the party’s current crisis and secure the release of former prime minister Imran Khan.

“I am a politician by birth, and I believe in a political solution to political issues, as confrontation and endless confrontation see no light at the end of the tunnel,” the former PTI minister emphasized while speaking to a TV channel from his hometown of Jhelum.

The former information minister—who parted ways with the PTI in May 2024 after denouncing the May 9 riots—said he had always believed that “political problems require political solutions.”

He revealed that he had warned the PTI leadership early on that its current strategy would fail to win Imran Khan’s freedom, a view he said was “bitterly criticized” at the time but has since proven correct.

Chaudhry said his renewed call for reconciliation and dialogue stemmed from a desire to “give a shut-up call to the self-centered social media groups working from offshore destinations,” who, he alleged, were deepening divisions for personal gain. “Those who matter in the PML-N also have the same line of thinking,” he added, saying that many PTI leaders who met Khan in jail agreed with his position.

He said the PTI must adopt a political course, adding, “Pouring fuel on the fire with every new attractive video or so-called analysis is shrinking political space at the national level.”

Asked about his status in the PTI, Chaudhry quipped, “If I were out of PTI, I would have been a minister like many who deserted Khan during hard times.”

His comments followed media reports in Daily Ausaf and The Express Tribune suggesting that senior former PTI figures—including Chaudhry, Asad Umar, Imran Ismail, Mahmood Moulvi, and Sibtain Khan—were planning to launch a political movement seeking Khan’s release. The reports claimed the group, described as the PTI’s “old guard,” would expand to include other veteran politicians from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh once Shah Mahmood Qureshi was released.

The speculation grew after Chaudhry and Ismail both posted near-identical messages on X saying they had met Qureshi, who was hospitalized recently, along with imprisoned party leaders at Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat Jail.

PTI distances itself from reports

However, PTI Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram dismissed the notion that any of the former leaders would play a role in the party’s future. Speaking on TV channel’s Programme, he said, “This is not a new thing. Many such people have tried to sell this narrative over the past year, and it has not gotten any support from Khan’s side.”

Akram asserted that there was only “one thinking” in PTI—that “whatever Imran Khan says will happen.” He said those attempting to stay politically relevant outside the party had “no link or impact” on PTI.

“Everyone has a shop to sell,” he remarked, “but that has no connection to our party’s line.”