Lahore:
Pakistan Tehreek-E-Insaf (PTI) faced a fresh leadership when Secretary General Salman Akram Raja announced his resignation while senior leader Hammad Azhar withdrew from contesting the upcoming Lahore election.
By going to X, Raja said an incident had forced him to resign. “My life is an open book. None of my actions are contrary to any principle. I do not accept a compromise on intellectual and financial integrity. Tomorrow I will resign by requesting Imran,” he released.
He said he was not a traditional politician, but had stuck despite internal and external pressure. “We endured subtle attacks, accepted financial uncertainty and faced false cases, but I regret nothing. I’m not afraid of prison,” said Raja, highlighting his role in key cases like the Tyrical, Iddat, Cipher, Military Courts and Reserved SEAT’s disputes.
Raja revealed that he had requested Imran through lawyer Ali Bukhari to allow him to focus on legal battles earlier, but he had fallen.
Meanwhile, Azhar, the son of the late veteran politician Mian Azhar, pulled out of the NA-129 competition and nominated his cousin Chaudhry Arsalan Zaheer as the family’s candidate.
Zaheer, a former chairman of Laorrest’s fruit and vegetable market committee, has long worked with the Azhar family in election campaigns.
Azhar explained that his withdrawal was due to personal restrictions and legal vulnerabilities, including cases related to the 9th of May -uro. He said Zaheer’s pure legal record minimized disqualification risks while his sister would oversee campaign operations.
The party’s insiders said that PTI management had given Azhar discretion to choose the candidate, though his legal problems played a crucial role.
