GUJAR KHAN: Continuing his criticism of his former political party, ex-PTI spokesperson Fawad Chaudhry claimed on Sunday that there was no chance of former prime minister Imran Khan being freed from prison as long as the current leadership held the party reins.

In a video message shared over the weekend, Mr Chaudhry, who parted ways with the PTI in May 2023, said the current leadership neither had any political strategy nor the capacity to get Mr Khan out of prison.

His remarks were the latest in a series of broadsides launched against the present PTI leadership over the past week, including Hamid Khan and Information Secretary Raoof Hassan.

In the latest video, the former PTI leader said he received messages and calls from several “friends”, asking him not to criticise the leadership as it “weakens the party”.

Former party spokesperson calls for wider access to imprisoned founder

“Ok, I won’t criticise. The issue is that I don’t see even one per cent chance of Imran Khan coming out [of prison] as long as this leadership is there.”

He also questioned those labelling his reproval “opportunism”, as the party is coming out of testing times.

“Tell me, where are the good days? Currently, I am facing 47 cases ... We face two new cases if we post a tweet or say something,” Mr Chaudhry said, and contrasted it with the “luxury” available to those who come from Peshawar to Lahore to attend rallies and go back without facing any consequences.

He added that hardships hadn’t ended for him, Mr Khan or other incarcerated PTI leaders like Ejaz Chaudhry, Yasmin Rashid, Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed and Omar Cheema.

While referring to allegations levelled by former Rawalpindi commissioner Liaquat Chattha about election rigging, Mr Chaudhry claimed that leaders such as Hamid Khan thwarted PTI’s response on the pretext that the party shouldn’t stand against Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa “since he was a good man”.

He further accused Mr Hamid, a senior lawyer, of “surrendering” the entire election to PML-N and PPP “merely for their personal ties”.

“The problem is that ... the senior leaders like Shah Mehmood Qureshi are not being released, while Parvez Elahi [who has been released] is yet to become [politically] active again,” Mr Chaudhry said, adding that unless senior leaders like Asad Qaiser, Hammad Azhar and Aslam Iqbal are brought at the forefront, PTI’s founding chairman will not be released from prison.

He added that the leadership is “befooling” workers that Mr Khan will be released after securing acquittal in cases from courts.

“Do courts have the power to release Imran Khan,” the ex-minister asked rhetorically, alluding that the decision to release Mr Khan lies with the establishment.

Later, while speaking to Geo News, Mr Chaudhry said that the present PTI leadership should also allow others to approach Imran in jail.

“This leadership is not letting access to Imran Khan so that their ‘business model’ keep working,” he said.

Responding to these claims, the PTI information secretary, Mr Hasan, said Imran Khan had “explicitly barred” PTI leaders from engaging with ex-party members, including Mr Chaudhry.

Interestingly, Mr Chaudhry is not the only one to have publicly expressed disapproval of the party leadership’s policies.

Leaders such as Shahryar Afridi, Shandana Gulzar and Sher Afzal Marwat have also gone public with their grievances against the party’s leadership, especially over their inability to secure the release of Mr Khan.

Published in Dawn, July 1st, 2024