ISLAMABAD: PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja on Wednesday maintained that the formation of the Punjab Coordination and Monitoring Committee would not be discussed, as the party leadership planned to raise the issue in the upcoming party meeting.

The composition of the aforementioned committee has been a subject of internal rift within the party, with leaders opposing the nomination of Amjad Khan Niazi as the convenor of the body, as he had parted ways with the party in the wake of May 9, 2023, protests.

A senior PTI leader, on condition of anonymity, told Dawn that a number of party leaders believe that the newly formed body was nothing but an attempt to “occupy” the party in Punjab.

His claim referred to the committee’s terms of reference, which include the task of coordinating organisational matters between Punjab’s four regions through engagement with their presidents and general secretaries. PTI’s Punjab chapter comprises four regions — Central, West, North and South — each led by its respective president and secretary.

“However, it has been decided that the matter will be discussed in PTI’s upcoming political committee meeting. Participants will express their views on whether the committee should be abolished,” he added.

Meanwhile, talking to Dawn, Raja said the matter was going nowhere and would not be discussed in the political committee meeting.

Earlier this week, Raja constituted a five-member body under the convenership of Niazi to “coordinate organisational matters between the four regions of Punjab through engagement with the presidents and general secretaries of those regions”.

PTI leaders Naeem Haider Panjotha, Shaukat Mahmood Basra, Ali Ijaz Buttar and Mehr Abdul Sattar were also named as members.

Raja had also affirmed that his decision regarding the composition of the committee, saying that no existing member would be excluded and no new name would be added to the body.