Incarcerated PTI leaders sought reconciliation via letter three months ago: Fawad Ch

• Former PTI leader claims four jailed leaders wrote a letter to him, urging lowering tensions and securing Imran’s release
• Says they met Shah Mehmood Qureshi in hospital but talks remained inconclusive
• Imran Ismail defends outreach, says ‘no PTI without Imran Khan’

ISLAMABAD: Former PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry claimed on Sunday that four incarcerated party leaders—Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Ejaz Chaudhry, Yasmin Rashid, and Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed—had written a letter around three months ago, urging a reduction in political confrontation and calling for efforts to secure the release of PTI founder Imran Khan, who has been in jail since 2023.

Fawad Ch, one of three ex-PTI leaders spearheading a “political outreach initiative” aimed at reconciling divided political camps, said the jailed leaders had clearly stated their stance in the letter. Speaking on a TV channel, he revealed that the group had also recently met Qureshi at a Lahore hospital, though the meeting ended without success.

He insisted that those who had not met PTI’s incarcerated leaders were “finding the development strange,” adding that he himself had held multiple meetings with Qureshi, Ejaz, and Rasheed. “We agree with the contents of the letter written by Shah sahib and Ejaz Chaudhry sahib,” he said.

Fawad Ch argued that political temperatures could only be lowered through mutual flexibility. “The government should take a step forward, and PTI should take a step back,” he suggested, adding that incarcerated leaders should be granted bail and A-class facilities for Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi to defuse tensions.

He further claimed that during a meeting in jail, he told Imran that “people are making money in his name on YouTube” and collecting funds for lawyers, adding, “Even these people will not let him come out of jail.”

The former minister maintained that only senior leaders such as Qureshi, Rashid, Ejaz, Rasheed, and Omer Cheema had the stature to hold dialogue with Imran. “Others are good, but there’s distance between them and Imran,” he said, reiterating that engagement with the government was the only alternative to street agitation.

Responding to criticism that he and others were seeking relevance by invoking Imran’s name, Fawad said, “Of course, we want to stay relevant with Imran Khan—PTI is what it is because of us. I myself spent seven months in jail. Those now claiming leadership didn’t spend a single day behind bars.”

He alleged that Imran preferred “nobodies” such as Usman Buzdar and Mehmood Khan as chief ministers to maintain personal control. “He wanted to run the provinces and the party himself,” Fawad remarked.

The former minister said his group would now approach senior ministers and parliamentary leaders, including the National Assembly speaker and Senate chairman, to help create “political breathing space” for PTI’s jailed leaders.

Earlier in the day, another ex-PTI leader, Imran Ismail—part of the same outreach initiative alongside Mehmood Moulvi—also defended the group’s efforts, saying the campaign was being wrongly portrayed as a “minus formula.”

Posting on X, Ismail said, “There is no PTI without Imran Khan—he is its founder, face, and force. Our effort is not a conspiracy but a sincere attempt to shift politics from confrontation to reconciliation.”

Thinking from the Heart — With Political Clarity

Some have begun to portray our recent political outreach as a “minus formula” designed to weaken Imran Khan or hijack PTI.
Let me be clear: there is no PTI without Imran Khan. He is its founder, face, and force.

Our initiative —…

— Imran Ismail (@ImranIsmailPTI) November 2, 2025

He added that Qureshi and Ejaz Chaudhry, while “firmly standing with Khan,” had privately acknowledged that the political stalemate must end. “Almost all senior PTI figures we consulted agreed confrontation has failed and reconciliation is the only way forward,” Ismail wrote.

Ismail said “self-proclaimed anchors abroad” were profiting by fuelling hostility and confusion, while internationally, “Field Marshal Asim Muneer’s growing diplomatic stature has reshaped perceptions of Pakistan.” He added that “foreign powers no longer automatically align behind Imran Khan,” and stability would come only through political calm at home.

He concluded that if anyone within PTI still believed confrontation was the right path, “they should come forward and convince the rest of us.”

Later, Fawad posted on X that “our formula includes Imran and excludes snakes in the PTI,” hinting that their plan was “moving towards implementation.”

ہمارے فارمولے میں عمران خان پلس اور PTI کے موجودہ سانپ سپولے مائنس ہوں گے۔۔ فارمولا عملدرآمد کی طرف گامزن ہے!!

— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) November 2, 2025

Meanwhile, Qureshi’s lawyer, Rana Mudassar, refuted reports of any political discussion during the hospital meeting, calling Fawad’s remarks “deceptive.” He said PTI’s jailed leadership—including Yasmin Rashid, Ejaz Chaudhry, Mehmoodur Rasheed, and Omer Cheema—remained united behind Imran’s stance of fighting cases purely on legal grounds.

Qureshi, who is scheduled for gallbladder surgery next week, and Cheema and Rasheed—both hospitalized—are among PTI’s senior leaders currently under detention since the May 9 riots.