The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Core Committee on Monday decided to consult founder Imran Khan on the fate of deserters who wish to rejoin the party, while stressing that those who left the party during difficult times had no right to comment on its internal affairs.
In recent weeks, several PTI deserters—who quit the party after the May 9, 2023 riots—have started to voice a desire to return to the party’s fold, with former information minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain alleging that the party’s incumbent leadership is incapable of securing Khan’s release. In a media blitz, Fawad has accused the incumbent leaders of being “pygmies” who have failed to devise an effective political strategy. To questions from various outlets, he has denied “quitting” the party, claiming further he has met Khan and been assured of his eventual return.
However, Fawad’s commentary has provoked backlash from the PTI’s current leadership, which maintains no one who left the party during its “difficult times” would be allowed to return. In a unanimously adopted resolution, the core committee “strongly” condemned all politicians who had left the PTI after May 9. It said such politicians have no moral rights or powers to comment on the party’s internal affairs, an apparent reference to Fawad’s commentary.
Maintaining the defectors “won’t be acceptable again,” the decision-making body nonetheless said that Khan would have the final say to determine the fate of the people who wished to return to the party after abandoning it earlier.
Also on Monday, the core committee approved a resolution seeking the withdrawal of Omar Ayub Khan’s resignation as secretary general, maintaining he had served in the role during “testing” times and this should not be forgotten. The core committee has urged the PTI founder to reject the resignation and direct Ayub to continue in his roles of party secretary general and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly.
A third resolution approved by the core committee reiterates a commitment to enforce party discipline, warning of strict actions against all violators, including suspension of basic membership. It said the party would act within seven days against individuals already censured over violations of party discipline.
Speaking to media after the meeting of the core committee, PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan rejected reports of a “forward bloc” within the party, claiming “some disciplinary issues” exist in all political parties. He said all members of the core committee had urged Ayub to withdraw his decision to step down from as secretary general, adding he would also request Imran Khan to accept the committee’s recommendation to retain Ayub in both his roles.