• Party leaders ‘unenthused’ by notification of five-member body to look after Punjab’s affairs
• Appointment of Amjad Khan Niazi as convenor, who parted ways after May 9 episode, raises eyebrows

ISLAMABAD: The formation of a Punjab Coordination and Monitoring Committee seems to have once again stirred up bad blood among PTI leaders.

The five-member body, which was notified by party secretary general Salman Akram Raja on Monday, has been met with derision within party circles, with the province’s regional presidents expressing a lack of faith in those named to the committee.

Interestingly, Amjad Khan Niazi, who parted ways with PTI in the wake of the events of May 9, 2023, is named as convenor of the body.

The notification, seen by Dawn, states that Niazi, Naeem Haid­­er Panjotha, Shaukat Mahmood Basra, Ali Ijaz Buttar and Mehr Abdul Sattar would also be part of the committee, which is tasked with “coordinat[ing] organisational matters between the four regions of the province of Punjab through engagement with the presidents and general secretaries of the said regions”.

The terms of reference also detail other responsibilities, such as coordinating the planning and preparation of all elections, monitoring and ensuring completion of party organisations at all levels, coordinating the activities of all affiliated wings of the party, engaging and advising regional presidents and general secretaries with respect to the effectiveness of party organisations at various levels, and proposing and monitoring the execution of political events in the province.

In addition, the body is to monitor prisoners’ welfare and provide legal support with respect to court cases. The committee is req­uired to provide a weekly report of its activities to secretary general, according to the notification signed by Raja.

According to insiders, bad blood between Salman Akram Raja and Firdous Shamim Naqvi provides some context to this notification. The inclusion of Niazi is said to be unpopular among party cadres, and recently led to a heated exchange between Raja and Naqvi.

“Naqvi alleged that since Raja changed the PTI leadership in Lahore, the city became dead/inactive. The very next day [i.e. Monday] Salman Akram Raja issued the notification,” a source said.

Another senior party leader said that there was long story beh­ind the notification, which has created further rifts within the party.

“Initially, Dr Yasmin Rashid was president of the PTI Punjab Coordination Committee. After her arrest, Hammad Azhar was appointed acting president. However, he also had to go underground after he was declared a proclaimed offender. Subse­quen­tly, Imran Khan had directed to give the responsibility to Sheikh Waqas Akram and Sardar Latif Khosa,” he said.

The party leader said that when Sheikh Waqas Akram was elevated as the party’s central information secretary, the coordination committee became dysfunctional.

During a subsequent meeting, Imran Khan had instructed Salman Akram Raja to give some responsibility to Aliya Hamza Malik, after which she was made chief organiser, a post which did not exist, the leader said. Later, after she was also convicted by a court, the post fell vacant.

However, the party leader insisted that PTI Punjab did not need a president or chief organiser, in the presence of regional presidents nominated by Imran Khan and answerable to the central leadership.

He claimed that last week, a meeting was held, which was attended by all four regional presidents of Punjab: Rai Hassan Nawaz, Taimur Malik, Bilal Ijaz and Ahmed Chattha, as well as the opposition leader in Punjab Assembly, Raja and Sheikh Waqas Akram.

In the meeting, the leader said Raja had given a commitment that a new Punjab head will be appointed after getting consent from Imran Khan.

However, the notification came out of the blue.

When contacted, PTI Central Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram told Dawn the appointments were made in view of the situation of Punjab.

He expressed hope that the coordination and monitoring committee will contact all leaders and workers of Punjab and help reorganise them.

Published in Dawn, May 5th, 2026