The PTI on Friday announced reconstitution of a 23-member political committee, including members from the opposition political alliance, who will serve as the party’s decision-making forum and who will be responsible for overseeing political strategy, organisational matters, and policy direction.

Last week, incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan dissolved the party’s political committee amid disagreements within the opposition party in his first move after weeks of being incommunicado.

The party’s Central Secretariat issued a notification, signed by PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja and Additional Secretary General Firdous Shamim Naqvi.

“The secretary general, on the instruction of the party’s founding chairman and in consultation with senior colleagues in the party, hereby reconstitutes the Political Committee of the Party/Alliance,” the notification said.

The newly formed committee, which will come into effect immediately, will serve as the ‘apex decision-making body of the party with respect to all decisions/ functioning, its wings and other committees.’ It will convene at least once a week, and its decisions will be implemented through the Central Secretariat and relevant party structures across the country.

It will also lay down “policies to be followed by the parliamentary parties of PTI in the National Assembly, the Senate and the provincial assemblies, including the assemblies of Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu Kashmir.”

“Sub-Committees shall be formed with individuals having relevant experience, including office-bearers of the party’s wings, invited to serve on the sub-committees,” it said.

Members of the Political Committee include PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan; PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja; PTI Additional Secretary General Firdous Shamim Naqvi; PTI Secretary Information Sheikh Waqas Akram; Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi; Leader of the Opposition in the Senate Allama Raja Nasir Abbas; proposed Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Mahmood Khan Achakzai; former Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Omar Ayub; former Leader of the Opposition in the Senate Shibli Faraz; Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly Moeen-ud-Din Riaz Qureshi; former Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly Malik Ahmad Khan Bhachar; Secretary Overseas (International Chapter) Sajjad Burki; Provincial Presidents/Chief Organisers Aliya Hamza, Junaid Akbar, Haleem Adil and Dawood Kakar; Special Regions (AJK and GB) representatives Khalid Khursheed and Sardar Qayyum Niazi; Secretary General Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan Asad Qaiser; Chief Whip in the NA Amir Dogar; Coordinator for the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate Fawzia Arshad; President Women’s Wing Kanwal Shauzab; and President Minorities’ Wing Dr Lal Chand Malhi.

The notification further said, “Sub-Committees shall be formed with individuals having relevant experience, including office-bearers of the party’s wings.”

It is worth mentioning that Qaiser had said the proposal for the dissolution of the political committee had been floated many a time by the members. One of the reasons for the dissolution of the previous committee was that the decisions were being leaked, he said, adding that the timing of the announcement did not matter since the proposal was under consideration for some time.

Earlier, an internal memo aimed to centralise control in the office of the secretary general was issued. The move had come under fire, as party insiders said it seemed to be an attempt to “end democracy and silence dissent” in the PTI.

A PTI leader, wishing not to be named, said there were around 40 members in the dissolved political committee due to which decisions were being leaked. “There was a need to include [opposition alliance members] Allama Raja Nasir Abbas and Mahmood Khan Achakzai in the committee,” he said.