Cracks within PTI widen; Shibli Faraz, Omar Ayub didn’t allow Sher Afzal Marwat to meet Imran Khan

Cracks within Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) seem to have widened, as two senior leaders Shibli Faraz and Omar Ayub didn’t allow” Sher Afzal Marwat to meet Imran Khan in Adiala Jail.

Following the development, PTI outspoken leader Sher Afzal Marwat refused to work with senior party leaders Shibli Faraz and Omar Ayub Khan, making the internal rifts more visible.

“I refuse to work with Shibli Faraz and Omar Ayub […] they didn’t allow me to meet PTI founder Imran Khan [in prison],” Sher Afzal Marwat said while speaking to the media outside Adiala jail in Rawalpindi.

“I was denied meeting the party founder yesterday as well as today,” he added.

 

Lamenting that the PTI founder Imran Khan was misguided on every issue, Marwat, quoting Shibli Faraz, said that the party backtracked over his name for the PAC chairman post after Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) raised objections to his nomination.

“I have been targeted since the February 8 elections and I have apprised the party founder about it”, Marwat said as he stressed that he has no interest in holding offices.

“I would resign from the National Assembly if the [PTI] founder even hints me so,” Marwat added.

Claiming that he picked up the PTI when it had become a “dead horse”, he lamented that he was de-notified as a member of the political committee despite being appointed to the said body by Imran Khan himself.

“I cannot accept [such] disrespect […] I am leaving and will only come back to meet the PTI founder when I’m called,” he said.

He also claimed that the party’s social media team was against him.

Stressing the need for protests, the outspoken politician said that the restoration of the mandate and freedom of the PTI founder couldn’t be achieved without demonstrations.

“Let the nation see whether there is a countrywide protest on May 9 tomorrow or not,” he said.

According to the news sources, Sher Afzal Marwat reached the conference room adjacent to the Adiala Jail, where former Prime Minister Imran Khan was listed to meet him on Tuesday. However, Imran Khan refused to meet Sher Afzal Marwat.

Marwat’s remarks come days after PTI revoked his nomination for the post of National Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman and named Sheikh Waqas Akram for the said office.

Later in the day taking to social media, Marwat in a series of posts lamenting PTI leaders’ actions said he wont work under ‘qabza mafia.’

Marwat said, “Mr Shibli Faraz has conveyed to Khan sb the message of Saudi ambassador that his government has reservations over my nomination for the committee. In view of this, I proclaim my withdrawal from the contest. Hopefully, the message news is not an untrue account like the previous one when Khwaja Asif and Speaker National Assembly were falsely quoted as saying that committee would be given to some other party if my name was not withdrawn. I will stand by the Khan sb through all thick and thin but will never work under a qabza mafia.”

“I have spoken my heart today. I would prefer to relax and stay away from media for a couple of days. It is therefore expected that media would respect my request,” Marwat added.

 

According to the sources, PTI Secretary General and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Omar Ayub and Senator Shibli Faraz summoned a political committee meeting to withdraw Marwat’s name.

The senior PTI leaders suggested Akram’s name as Sher Afzal Marwat’s replacement.

However, Asad Qaiser, Sheharyar Afridi, Shandana Gulzar, and Zulfi Bukhari came forward in favour of Marwat during the voting, claimed news source.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, have been a subject of discussion and concern for some time now.

From ideological differences to internal power struggles, various factors have contributed to the visible divisions within the party.