Clueless: PTI condemns threats to Wajihuddin

LAHORE:

Several Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leaders on Monday condemned a letter addressed to Justice (r) Wajihuddin warning him of serious consequences for his opposition of party chief Imran Khan.

Describing the letter as a shameful and sinister act, they called for investigating the matter.

The letter, signed by ‘PTI Tigers’, surfaced in the mainstream media on Sunday night.  It has been circulated widely on social media and mobile messaging services. The origin of the letter, carrying the party’s flag, remains uncertain.

Justice Wajih says he saw the letter on social media on Sunday. He said it was an ‘underhand tactic’ and had tarnished the party’s image.

Addressed to Wajihuddin and his supporters, the letter warns against ‘betraying’ Imran Khan.

“We honour those who are loyal to Khan… opposition to Khan’s loyalists is unbearable for us,” it reads. It says the addressees have a “last chance” to abstain from forming splinter groups within the party.

Wajihuddin says senders of the letter have identified themselves as members of the PTI Tigers Force. “The force was launched by Aleem Khan when he was PTI’s Lahore president,” he told The Express Tribune. He said Aleem Khan had been found guilty during investigations by PTI’s Election Tribunal and the Standing Committee on Accountability and Discipline.

He said he could not comment about who might be behind the letter. He said he presumed that it was linked to Aleem Khan. He said the issue was serious and required a probe by law enforcement agencies. He said he had been informed that Imran Khan had constituted a committee to look into the matter.

“I have not been directly assured of anything by the party’s leadership… but I will wait for committee’s findings before pursuing legal action,” Wajihuddin said.

In a tweet on Monday evening, Shireen Mazari said the letter was a shameful act of desperation. “The guilty must be identified and punished,” the tweet read.

PTI Punjab Media Task Force deputy secretary Sania Kamran denied that the letter had a link with the PTI Tigers Force. “It is beneath our workers to be involved in such a shameful act,” she said.

Kamran said that the matter should be investigated to find the elements behind it. She said the matter should also be taken up legally.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 25^th, 2015.