Journalist Haider Sherazi claimed on Wednesday that a heated debate occurred between Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Barrister Gohar Khan and Secretary General Salman Akram Raja at the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) House, Islamabad on Tuesday when the latter said that there should have been an expression of solidarity with the party founder’s sister for not letting them visit Adiala Jail earlier in the week. 

 

Appearing on a private news channel, the journalist said that in response to Raja’s claims, Gohar stated that Imran Khan was being regularly visited in jail by party leaders in the past, and Raja’s name was not on the list on several occasions, yet he still managed to meet Imran Khan; therefore, this matter should not be brought under discussion.

On Tuesday, Imran Khan's sisters were barred from meeting her brother at Adiala Jail. However, Barrister Gohar, Barrister Ali Zafar, Zaheer Abbas, and other lawyers were allowed to enter the jail, media reports had earlier claimed.

 

Meanwhile, as per a leading English newspaper, despite the names of Barrister Gohar and Ali Zafar not being included in the list handed over to Adiala jail authorities, both visited Imran Khan. To this, some PTI members raised objections.

 

Following Raja’s word ‘Manzoor-e-Nazar’ (favorite), purportedly used for Senator Ali Zafar, the latter expressed regret over the remarks. The Senator, while talking to media outside Islamabad High Court (IHC) had claimed that Raja’s comments regarding the meeting with the founder of the PTI have created a new controversy.

 

In a conversation with the media at Parliament House on Wednesday, Gohar, while calling Ali Zafar “an honest man”, stressed, “I want to unite the party, even if I have to leave my position. I express serious reservations about the word Manzoor-e-Nazar.”

The PTI secretary general told journalists that it was decided with everyone’s consent that he would give six names of lawyers, whereas on Tuesday, the names of the six lawyers he gave were not allowed as only Manzoor-e-Nazar were allowed to meet Imran Khan.

 

The PTI Secretary General said that Imran Khan had not called anyone on Tuesday as he had spoken to the family, and they were fine. Raja categorically cleared that in the future, anyone whose name was not on the list should not meet Imran Khan.