Salman Akram Raja reprimands Aliya Hamza over tweet on party\u2019s Lahore event, warns of disciplinary action
\n RAWALPINDI
\nPakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan has called on party members to set aside personal differences and focus on the party\u2019s movement, amid signs of growing discord over a recent meeting held in Lahore.
\nSpeaking to the media after meeting Imran at Adiala Jail on Tuesday, Aleema Khan said the former premier had issued two strong messages. \u201cDifferences are being deliberately created over the Lahore gathering,\u201d she quoted him as saying. \u201cEnd personal disputes and focus entirely on the movement.\u201d
\nShe said Imran also criticised his treatment in prison and alleged that both he and his wife, Bushra Bibi, were being subjected to \u201coppression.\u201d
\n\u201cThe jail superintendent and an officer have stripped away basic human rights,\u201d she said, adding, \u201cThere must be accountability for the treatment I\u2019ve endured. This is all being done on the orders of one person.\u201d
\nAleema further said that Imran expressed satisfaction over the attendance of 300 party parliamentarians at the Lahore meeting but warned that any individual causing divisions in the party would be dealt with personally. \u201cWe are in jail, and you are fuelling rifts \u2013 that\u2019s unacceptable,\u201d she quoted him as saying.
\n\u201cWe\u2019ve been coming to jail for two years now,\u201d Aleema continued. \u201cOur family fully stands by the party\u2019s decisions. We want to see the founder\u2019s instructions followed. The time has come to pave the way for his release and demand an end to inhumane treatment by the jail authorities.\u201d
\nMeanwhile, PTI General Secretary Salman Akram Raja publicly reprimanded PTI Punjab Chief Organiser Aliya Hamza, calling her recent tweet regarding the party\u2019s Lahore event unnecessary and warning of disciplinary action.
\nSpeaking to reporters outside Adiala Jail, Raja expressed frustration over internal tensions following a gathering in Lahore, which was attended by top PTI leadership. \u201cAliya Hamza should not have tweeted about the Lahore event,\u201d he said, adding, \u201cThe entire conversation was foolish. If anything further happens, we will take disciplinary action.\u201d
\nHe dismissed claims of exclusion from the event, stating that those who didn\u2019t attend did so by choice. \u201cThere was no issue of invitations. Whoever wanted to come, could come. No one was stopped,\u201d he said. \u201cThe press conference didn\u2019t require everyone\u2019s presence. I only went because the chief minister was there. It wouldn\u2019t have looked right if he addressed the media alone,\u201d he added.
\nCriticising efforts to politicise the event, he stated, \u201cA controversy was deliberately created around the Lahore event as part of a conspiracy. What was the need to tweet after the press conference? I reject that tweet and warn: don\u2019t do it again.\u201d Raja also made it clear that the party would follow the timeline set by PTI founder Imran Khan. \u201cThe date given by the founder will stand. These talks of 90 days mean nothing. What I say is correct, and if anyone dares to contradict me, I\u2019ll deal with them.\u201d
\nHe emphasised that Aliya\u2019s role was to mobilise the party in Punjab\u2014not to comment on internal matters publicly. \u201cHer job is to work, not to tweet. We will run this movement according to the founder\u2019s instructions,\u201d he concluded.
\nPTI faces internal rift
\nPTI is grappling with internal divisions over the timeline and strategy for a nationwide protest aimed at securing the release of former prime minister Imran Khan.
\nThe discord, primarily between the party\u2019s central leadership and its Punjab chapter, has escalated tensions as the proposed August 5 protest date approaches, marking two years since Khan\u2019s imprisonment.
\nThe central leadership \u2014 including Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur \u2014 has advocated for a 90-day campaign culminating in a decisive protest, emphasising a strategic build-up to maximise impact.
\nGandapur, speaking at a Lahore press conference on July 13, described the movement as a \u201cdo-or-die\u201d effort to challenge what PTI calls a \u201cfascist regime\u201d and to secure Khan\u2019s release.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Salman Akram Raja reprimands Aliya Hamza over tweet on party\u2019s Lahore event, warns of disciplinary action RAWALPINDI Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan has called on party members to set aside personal differences and focus on the party\u2019s movement, amid signs of growing discord over a recent meeting held in Lahore. Speaking to the media […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-490442","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-top-news"},"yoast_head":"\n