PTI unveils revamped political committee

ISLAMABAD:

Days after scrapping its earlier, larger body amid concerns over 'leaks', the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Friday unveiled a reconstituted political committee, naming 23 senior leaders while pointedly leaving out former Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur and including leaders of the opposition alliance.

The reorganisation was carried out on the instructions of the party's jailed founder Imran Khan, who had directed Secretary General Salman Akram Raja to form a new committee.

The notification, signed by Salman Akram Raja and Additional Secretary General Firdous Shamim Naqvi, states that the committee will serve as the central platform for all major political decisions, policy formation and parliamentary direction for PTI's representation in the National Assembly, Senate, provincial assemblies and the assemblies of Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

The list includes Chairman PTI Gohar Ali Khan, SG Salman Akram Raja, Additional SG Firdous Shamim Naqvi, and Secretary Information Sheikh Waqas Akram.

Others inducted are K-P Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Mahmood Khan Achakzai, outgoing NA opposition leader Omar Ayub and outgoing Senate opposition leader Shibli Faraz.

Punjab Assembly Opposition Leader Moeen Qureshi, former opposition leader Malik Ahmad Khan Bhachar, Overseas Chapter Secretary Sajjad Burki and provincial organisers Aliya Hamza, Junaid Akbar, Haleem Adil Sheikh and Dawood Kakar have also been included.

From AJK and G-B, Khalid Khurshid and Sardar Qayyum Niazi have been added as representatives for special regions.

Former NA speaker and SG TTAP Asad Qaiser, NA chief whip Amir Dogar, Senate coordinator for the opposition Fawzia Arshad, Women's Wing President Kanwal Shauzab and Minorities Wing President Lal Chand Malhi complete the 23-member lineup.

According to the notification, the committee will come into immediate effect and will function as "the apex decision-making body of the party with respect to all decisions/functioning of the Party, its wings and other committees".

It will also frame policies to be followed by PTI's parliamentary parties. The document further notes that "further appointments or deletions may be made as required" and that sub-committees will be formed with individuals possessing relevant expertise, including office-bearers of PTI wings.

The move follows a turbulent spell within the opposition party, during which PTI founding chairman Imran Khan abruptly dissolved the political committee. Earlier this month, a message posted on his X account announced that a smaller committee would replace the existing body and that Salman Akram Raja had been tasked with overseeing its reconstitution.

"I am dissolving the political committee of the PTI today. Party's Secretary General Salman Akram Raja has full authority to form a smaller committee to formulate a political strategy and implement it," the tweet said.

The announcement coincided with Uzma Khan's rare meeting with the jailed party supremo in Adiala Jail after weeks of unsuccessful attempts.

PTI leaders later explained that the current political committee would be replaced by a more compact body. They had hinted that the new setup would likely include provincial heads, leaders of the opposition and a select group of senior figures.

The restructuring also comes against the backdrop of the Election Commission of Pakistan's repeated refusal to accept PTI's intra-party elections. With no recognised office-bearers or core committee, the political committee had effectively become the party's operational command centre.

Senior PTI leader Asad Qaiser had previously said the idea of dissolving the committee had been "floated many a time" within the party, adding that one major frustration was the frequent leaking of its internal decisions. He added that the timing was less important than the fact that the proposal had been under consideration for months.

He said a coordination committee of provincial and central leaders, along with allied partners, would replace the political committee.

The move also aligns with a recently circulated internal memo aimed at consolidating organisational authority in the office of Secretary General Salman Akram Raja.