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ISLAMABAD:
Days after scrapping its previous, larger body over concerns over “leaks”, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Friday unveiled a reconstituted political committee that named 23 senior leaders, while it pointedly left out former Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur and included leaders of the opposition alliance.
The reorganization was carried out on the instructions of the party’s jailed founder Imran Khan, who had directed general secretary 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 act as the central platform for all major policy decisions, policy making and parliamentary direction for PTI’s representation in the National Assembly, Senate, Provincial Assemblies and Assemblies of Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmirad.
The list includes Chairman PTI Gohar Ali Khan, SG Salman Akram Raja, Additional SG Firdous Shamim Naqvi and Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram.
Others inducted are KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, Leader of Opposition in Senate Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, Leader of Opposition in National Assembly Mahmood Khan Achakzai, outgoing NA Leader of Opposition Omar Ayub and outgoing Leader of Opposition in Senate Shibli Faraz.
Punjab Leader of Opposition Moeen Qureshi, former Leader of Opposition Malik Ahmad Khan Bhachar, Overseas Chapter Secretary Sajjad Burki and provincial organizers Aliya Hamza, Junaid Akbar, Haleem Adil Sheikh and Dawood Kakar have also been included.
From AJK and GB, Khalid Khurshid and Sardar Qayyum Niazi have been added as special regions representatives.
Former NA Speaker and SG TTAP Asad Qaiser, NA Chief Whip Amir Dogar, Senate Coordinator of Opposition Fawzia Arshad, Women’s Wing President Kanwal Shauzab and Minority Wing President Lal Chand Malhi complete the 23-member line-up.
According to the announcement, the committee will come into force with immediate effect and will act as the “supreme decision-making body of the party in respect of all decisions/functions 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 persons possessing relevant expertise, including PTI wing officials.
The move follows a turbulent period in the opposition party, during which PTI’s founding chairman Imran Khan abruptly dissolved the political committee. Earlier this month, a message 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 disbanding PTI’s political committee today. Party general secretary Salman Akram Raja has full authority to form a small 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 failed 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 was likely to include provincial chiefs, leaders of the opposition and a select group of dignitaries.
The restructuring also comes against the backdrop of the Election Commission of Pakistan’s repeated refusal to accept PTI’s intra-party elections. Without recognized officials or core committees, the political committee had effectively become the operational command center of the party.
Senior PTI leader Asad Qaiser had earlier said the idea of ​​disbanding the committee had been “floated many times” in the party, adding that a major frustration was the frequent leakage 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 comprising provincial and central leaders along with allied partners would replace the political committee.
The move is also in line with a recently circulated internal memo aimed at consolidating organizational authority in Secretary General Salman Akram Raja’s office.
