ISLAMABAD: As if worries of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) in the wake of the rejection of its allegations of rigging in the 2013 general election by the inquiry commission weren’t enough, making peace among senior leaders of the party has become a serious issue for party chairman Imran Khan.

On Friday, Imran Khan held a detailed meeting with retired Justice Wajihuddin Ahmad, an estranged leader of the PTI, at the former’s Bani Gala residence which, according to an insider, lasted for well over two hours.

However, what transpired soon after the meeting clearly showed, at least for now, that the PTI chairman had failed to prevail on an ever-inflexible Wajihuddin.

Talking to the media after the meeting, Mr Ahmad said he continued to stick with recommendations that he as chairman of the PTI’s election tribunal had made against those who tried to influence the results of intra-party elections through illegal means.

“Yes, basic party membership of PTI general secretary Jahangir Tareen along with others who has been found guilty by the tribunal must be cancelled forthwith,” he unequivocally responded to a question.

He added that based on the evidence presented before the tribunal, a detailed set of recommendations had been forwarded to the party leadership, “which I will keep on pushing for implementation”.

He said during his meeting with the party chairman he had assured him of complete cooperation on the subject of tribunal’s recommendations.

The Wajihuddin Ahmad-led tribunal had also found senior party leader and Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pervez Khattak and incumbent information secretary Naeemul Haq guilty of influencing the intra-party elections.

Wajihuddin Ahmad’s interaction with the media received an immediate reaction from the PTI’s media wing.

In a rejoinder, PTI information secretary Naeemul Haq said whatever Mr Ahmad had said about senior party leaders was his individual opinion and had nothing to do with the party’s policy. He reiterated his party’s stance on the Wajihuddin Ahmad-led tribunal that it stood dissolved.

Mr Haq said the PTI chairman wanted complete end to intra-party frictions and for this he had called a meeting of the party leaders on Sunday.

Although, Mr Ahmad’s differences with the party leadership was on old issue now as the two sides had repeatedly blamed each other, following the unveiling of the poll inquiry commission report other party leaders had also gone public about their grievances against party leadership.

Last week, Hamid Khan, another senior PTI leader, publicly criticised the party leadership for failing to prove its case before the judicial commission for which he primarily held Jahangir Tareen responsible. Without naming he had said that ideological workers of the party were being sidelined at the cost of what he called as opportunists.

An insider told Dawn that Imran Khan was perturbed over differences among the party leaders and had called the meeting on Sunday, where he was likely to address the issue once and for all, as the party was suffering due to these wrangling.

Published in Dawn, August 1st, 2015

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