Salman Akram Raja has stepped down from his position as the secretary general of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), while Sahibzada Hamid Raza has resigned from both PTI’s core and political committees.
PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja has resigned owing to "personal reasons" and informed the party chairman about his decision.
"My resignation should be accepted. I will continue to serve the party as a lawyer," Raja has stated.
Barrister Gohar Ali Khan confirmed receiving Salman Akram Raja's resignation in conversation with Samaa TV. "Salman Akram Raja's resignation has not been accepted yet," Gohar added. He has refused to accept the resignation as of now and says Raja has been asked to reconsider the decision.
It should be recalled that in September this year, the PTI leader and senior lawyer was appointed to the position on the instructions of Imran Khan.
It should be noted that he faced severe criticism for not playing an active role in the PTI’s final call protest in Islamabad on November 24.
On the other hand, MNA Sahibzada Hamid Raza has also resigned from the PTI's core committee and political committee, and has offered to resign from the membership of the National Assembly.
According to sources, Sahibzada Hamid Raza resigned on the issue of not being taken into confidence in party matters as well as poor strategy in the Islamabad protests.
Hamid Raza has also made a conditional offer to resign from his National Assembly seat. He has apparently said he will talk to PTI Founder Imran Khan during a meeting in prison, and if the latter allows, he will send his resignation to the National Assembly speaker.
On Wednesday, in a video statement on his official X account, Salman Akram Raja claimed that at least 20 PTI supporters had been killed during the party's 'do-or-die' demonstration in Islamabad. He said the party possessed detailed information and videos of eight of the deceased, with additional details to be released soon.
He had alleged that PTI workers receiving medical treatment in Islamabad hospitals were being denied access to their families and that hospitals were instructed to destroy relevant records.
The PTI leader further accused authorities of issuing directives to withhold documentation of the deceased and injured. He announced that the party would pursue legal action against the government, the Interior Ministry, and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi.
Earlier, Interior Minister Naqvi had dismissed the PTI’s claims, labelling social media reports about 33 bodies being brought to hospitals as "propaganda". Speaking to the media, he challenged the PTI to provide the names of the deceased, maintaining that no casualties had been reported during the protests.
