'Key PTI leaders seek reconciliation'

Fawad claims Qureshi, Ejaz, Yasmin and Rasheed urged easing tensions with establishment

Former PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry on Sunday claimed that four senior PTI leaders had written a joint letter around three months ago, urging a lowering of the political temperature in the country and efforts to secure Imran Khan's release from jail.

Speaking on a private news channel, Fawad claimed the letter reflected a shared stance among the detained PTI leaders — Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Ejaz Chaudhry, Yasmin Rashid and Mehmoodur Rasheed — that confrontation had to give way to reconciliation.

He said he had been meeting Qureshi, Ejaz and Rasheed "multiple times," adding that those unfamiliar with such visits found this initiative "strange".

"Primarily, we agree with the contents of the letter written by Shah sahib himself, the letter written by Ejaz Chaudhry sahib," the former party leader said. He argued that if the government refused dialogue with PTI, the party would be left with no option but street agitation.

"And the government will stop them," he warned.

He stressed that only senior figures like Qureshi, Rashid, Ejaz, Rasheed and Omar Cheema could effectively communicate with Imran Khan due to their stature, claiming that "there is distance between Imran and the rest".

He suggested the government may take a step forward, and the PTI a step backwards, proposing bail for jailed leaders and better prison conditions for Imran and Bushra Bibi.

Recalling his own meeting with Imran, Fawad claimed he told the jailed PTI founder that "people were making money in his name on YouTube" and that "even these people will not let him come out of jail".

He said both sides needed to show flexibility to break the deadlock.

Responding to criticism that he and others were trying to stay relevant by associating with Imran, Fawad said, "It is true that we want to keep ourselves relevant with Imran Khan. Because whatever PTI is today, it is because of us".

He contrasted his seven-month imprisonment with others who "never went to jail for even a day".

Fawad accused the current PTI leadership of lacking legitimacy, saying, "They don't fear minus Imran Khan. What they fear is that our formula is about Imran Khan plus - and excludes them."

Meanwhile, Imran Ismail defended the outreach effort, rejecting speculation that it was meant to sideline Imran. In a statement on X, he wrote: "There is no PTI without Imran Khan. He is its founder, face, and force. Our initiative is not a conspiracy. It is a conscious effort to move Pakistan's politics away from confrontation and back toward reconciliation."

In a related development, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja visited the hospital to inquire after Qureshi and held a brief meeting with him to discuss political developments.