Differences within PTI deepen over Imran Khan’s jail meetings

ISLAMABAD: Serious differences have emerged within the top leadership of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) over meetings with party founder Imran Khan, currently incarcerated at Adiala Jail, as senior lawyer and PTI senator Barrister Ali Zafar expressed regret over allegations made by Salman Akram Raja.

Speaking to the media outside the Islamabad High Court, Barrister Zafar said Raja’s comments about meetings with Imran Khan had triggered an unnecessary controversy.

Salman Akram Raja had alleged that the Islamabad High Court’s full bench order had been violated. Speaking to journalists, he claimed that all stakeholders had agreed on a list of six lawyers to meet Khan, but none were allowed in, while only “favoured individuals” were granted access.

He also clarified that Imran Khan had not summoned anyone, and that his family had confirmed he was well. “In future, only those on the approved list should meet him,” Raja stressed.

Commenting further on Raja’s remarks, Barrister Zafar said: “Imran Khan has never refused to meet anyone. Many of Khan’s lawyers visit him regularly, though sometimes names are left off the list, and access is granted when names are called.”

He added it was everyone’s right to meet the PTI founder, and the party had never decided who could or could not go to Adiala Jail. “The chairman has always been willing to talk to anyone in the national interest.”

Tensions escalated further on Tuesday when PTI workers protested near the jail after being denied permission to meet Imran Khan. The protest turned chaotic, with some participants throwing stones.

Several party leaders and family members, including Khan’s sisters, Aliya Hamza and Sahibzada Hamid Raza, were briefly detained and later released. They later staged a sit-in in a nearby hall.

However, jail authorities rejected the allegations of selective access, calling them “false and baseless” and part of a political campaign. They maintained that both Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi were allowed meetings with family members and lawyers, and Khan was also facilitated with WhatsApp calls to his sons abroad.

PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan has also clarified that there was no restriction on the sisters of the party’s founder from meeting him at Adiala Jail, adding that on several occasions they were repeatedly asked to come inside, but chose not to.

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Speaking to reporters, Gohar said, “Not a single sister of the PTI founder went inside, despite being called in multiple times.”

He further said that a consensus had been reached during the 26th Constitutional Amendment that if even one name from the approved lawyer list was missing, none would be allowed to meet Imran Khan. “We gave a list of five names which included Salman Akram Raja. Later, a list of only three names was accepted, and Salman’s name was not on it,” he explained.

Gohar added that objections were raised about Raja not being a member of the National Assembly. “On March 25, all three sisters of the PTI founder were stopped,” he said, but noted that the issue had never been raised in any political committee meeting.

He urged party members to refrain from political point-scoring, saying, “If the decision is to deny meetings to the founder’s sisters, then no one should be allowed.”

Referring to Barrister Zafar, Gohar said, “He should never be labelled as someone with special access. He has fought many of PTI’s legal battles free of charge.”

He also praised Zafar’s cooperation when Shibli Faraz was nominated as Leader of the Opposition in the Senate. “Ali Zafar graciously accepted it.”

On the broader political front, Gohar reiterated Imran Khan’s stance: “He has never closed the door for dialogue with the establishment.”