ISLAMABAD: A day after Omar Ayub Khan stepped down as PTI’s secretary general, the party’s top leaders reposed confidence in him and urged him to continue in the role.

A meeting of PTI’s parliamentary party on Friday “unanimously” expressed confidence in Mr Ayub, who is also the opposition leader in National Assembly.

“The parliamentary party unanimously resolves that his resignation may not be accepted and he may be directed to continue as secretary general of the party,” a press release issued by PTI said.

The wording of the press release is interesting because as per sources within the party, PTI founding chairman Imran Khan has already accepted Mr Ayub’s resignation.

Party’s apex body refutes reports of ‘forward bloc’, even as more leaders go public with their discontent

The move came as a surprise, even for some PTI insiders, who said they thought the founder would not accept the resignation and ask Mr Ayub to continue in his position.

The united front, as demonstrated by the top leadership, however, failed to paper over visible fissures among PTI ranks as some of its key leaders continued censuring their party colleagues.

The parliamentary party also refuted media reports of rifts within PTI and said there was no “forward bloc” within the party, which was “united under the leadership of the founding chairman Imran Khan”.

Discontent among PTI leaders

A senior PTI leader told Dawn that the current leadership was “incapable” of keeping the party united and overcoming the issues being confronted by PTI.

He added that the only way out for PTI is to forge a strong opposition alliance with Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl, Grand Democratic Alliance, BNP, PkMAP and Jamaat-i-Islami.

The PTI leader said the present leadership neither has a political strategy nor can it execute any plan given to it by the jailed PTI founder.

Ex-PTI leader Fawad Cha­udhry also said that a strong opposition alliance was the party’s only option to mount pressure on the government.

“The government will [not] become serious about talks unless it is pressurised by the joint opposition through street protest,” said the former party spokesperson.

Mr Chaudhry also claimed to have met leaders of other opposition parties who were “reluctant” to ally with the current PTI leaders. He also said that the government doesn’t take the present PTI leadership seriously.

Another sign of discontent in the party ranks was comments made by firebrand PTI leader Sher Afzal Marwat against senior leader Shibli Faraz on X.

He demanded Mr Faraz’s resignation from party positions and as Senate’s leader of the opposition.

In recent weeks, other party leaders such as Shahryar Afridi and Shandana Gulzar — both members of the National Assembly — have gone public with their grievances against the party’s leadership, especially their inability to secure the release of PTI’s incarcerated founder, Mr Khan.

Mr Ayub’s resignation — tendered on June 22 — lent credence to reports of discontent among PTI leaders even though he cited the burden of dual responsibilities as reason for his decision.

In his resignation shared on X, he wrote that it was not possible for him to continue working as party’s secretary general and opposition leader in the National Assembly at the same time.

Published in Dawn, June 29th, 2024