• Despite Aleema’s pronouncements, political committee votes to field candidates on SIC tickets; final decision expected after legal team meets Imran today
• Insiders say fear of losing majority in KP Assembly, ceding political space in Punjab behind ‘change of heart’
• Drama unfolds after Monday’s meeting as Salman Akram Raja announces decision to quit as secy general
ISLAMABAD/LAHORE: A tug of war within the opposition PTI over whether to participate in the upcoming by-elections for national and provincial assembly seats — vacated after the recent disqualifications of a number of key lawmakers — will weigh heavily on party leaders as they meet Imran Khan today for a final decision in the matter.
Insiders told Dawn the party’s political committee — in its meeting on Monday — had a change of heart after a majority of members voted against the decision to boycott by-polls.
This goes against the opinion reportedly expressed by incarcerated party founder Imran Khan, whose sister Aleema has conveyed on a couple of occasions his intention to steer clear of by-elections, so that the party isn’t seen as legitimising the process.
The party has already obtained stay orders against the de-seating of key opposition leaders, such as Omar Ayub and Shibli Faraz. It has also, albeit reluctantly, nominated replacements while the party pursues legal options.
But faced with threats on multiple fronts — including the possible loss of majority in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly due to future disqualifications, a push to reclaim political space in Punjab, and a showdown between two opposing camps within the party — it seems as if the PTI may throw its hat in the ring, despite all misgivings about the by-elections. According to sources privy to proceedings, Monday’s meeting of the political committee voted 12-9 in favour of fielding candidates for the upcoming by-elections.
Additionally, PTI Information Secretary Sheikh Waqqas Akram announced that all candidates would be issued tickets under the banner of the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), which appears to be an insurance policy of sorts, to offset chances of them being declared ‘independent candidates’, since the dispute around PTI’s intra-party elections and the matter of its electoral symbol are still in limbo.
Three meetings with Imran
Aleema Khan had clearly stated after meeting with the former prime minister that Mr Khan did not want to field any candidates for the by-elections. If they did, it would appear to be an insult, disrespecting and dishonouring leaders who had been disqualified. This message was also shared Mr Khan’s official X account — even though the former PM does not personally have access to social media.
However, a majority of the party leaders were in favour of contesting by-elections. So, Mr Khan was approached once again through his sisters, and he repeated the same message, sources said.
But, in the last meeting between Imran and his legal team, Naeem Haider Panjotha called up Advocate Ali Bukhari — another member of the legal team —saying that Mr Khan wanted to meet him.
According to one account, it was Mr Bukhari who prevailed on the party founder to reconsider his stance, saying that in case any legislators from KP are disqualified in the coming days and the PTI does not field any candidates, it may stand to lose its majority in KP. Observers feel that while the PTI is under a lot of pressure in Punjab, there is no looming threat to the party in KP, partly because only a handful of the sitting or former MPAs have been nominated in cases where they may face disqualification.
In addition, the provincial government-appointed prosecutors are less inclined to push these cases in courts, which are widely seen are being comparatively lenient towards the party.
This is also a reason why many parliamentarians, who are facing prosecution in Punjab, have either taken up sanctuary in KP or approached the Peshawar High Court for legal relief.
Mr Bukhari reportedly also asked Mr Khan about fielding candidates for the vacant posts of opposition leaders in the National Assembly and Senate, and the Punjab Assembly. This issue, the founder had instructed, should be discussed the by political committee, and suggested that if candidates are to be fielded, Mahmood Khan Achakzai and Azam Swati should be considered.
Drama in political committee
During Monday’s meeting, it emerged that a majority of leaders were in favour of not ceding political space to the ruling parties.
A fear was expressed that PTI legislators from KP could be disqualified in Nov 26 cases, after which the party may not be able to hold on to the provincial government. Once the KP government goes, things will become more difficult for the party, sources said.
In addition, PTI leaders were confident that they could easily win elections in KP. However, when Sheikh Waqqas Akram shared the party’s decision on social media, it triggered a wave of criticism from across the globe. When approached, Mr Akram confirmed that he, Salman Akram Raja and a few others were against the decision, but they had to go with the majority.
In a dramatic turn of events, however, Salman Akram Raja tweeted his intention to step down from the post of secretary general, saying he would request Imran Khan to accept his resignation when the two met on Tuesday (today).
Although he did not specify what prompted him to take this decision, the timing of his tweet indicated that the “incident” he referred to was — in all probability — the political committee’s decision to contest by-polls. “Tomorrow I will resign from my position by requesting Khan sahib. My legal services will remain available without compensation,” he wrote on X.
Talking to Dawn, former Punjab Assembly opposition leader Malik Ahmad Khan Bhachar said that the fog around whether to contest by-elections or not would be cleared up when lawyers meet Imran Khan in Adiala Jail today (Tuesday). He also voiced support for elements who feel that the party should not leave the field open in Punjab by boycotting polls. “While going into elections on around 14 provincial and national assembly constituencies, the PTI will be doing a lot of political activity, which would definitely expose the government if it tried to rig these elections,” he said.
Candidates withdraw
Meanwhile, three PPP candidates have withdrawn their nomination papers for by-elections in Punjab, in favour of PML-N nominees, as per a recent agreement between the two parties. A PPP spokesperson said that candidates had withdrawn their candidatures for National Assembly constituencies NA-129 (Lahore) and NA-66 (Wazirabad), as well as the Punjab Assembly constituency PP-87 (Mianwali).
Amjad Mahmood in Lahore also contributed to this report
Published in Dawn, August 26th, 2025