Former Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) member Sher Afzal Marwat on Wednesday slammed the party's Secretary General Salman Akram Raja for using the term Manzoor-e-Nazar (favourite) for party chairman Barrister Gohar Khan and Senator Ali Zafar.

 

Speaking to reporters in Islamabad, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) firebrand sternly said that accusing Gohar and Ali Zafar of being Manzoor-e-Nazar is “not a joke,” adding that Raja will have to clarify his statement.

 

On Wednesday, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja, while talking to journalists at the Islamabad High Court (IHC), said that on Tuesday, the list of six lawyers' names he gave were not allowed to visit Adiala Jail as only Manzoor-e-Nazar were allowed to meet the party founder.

 

On Tuesday, Barrister Gohar, Barrister Ali Zafar, Zaheer Abbas, and other lawyers were allowed to enter the jail, media reports had earlier claimed.

 

Raja made it clear that in the future, anyone whose name was not on the list should not meet Imran Khan in the jail.

 

Launching a tirade against TV anchors for calling him “Hawk,” Raja lamented, “I am wondering about hearing from Manzoor-e-Nazar anchors that they are calling me a hawk. They [anchors] say in every programme that Salman Raja is against reconciliation in the country.”

 

The PTI chairman was seen nodding during Raja's charged media talk.

 

Meanwhile, voicing concerns regarding the usage of the term Manzoor-e-Nazar, Gohar told journalists at the Parliament House on Wednesday, “I express serious reservations about the word manzoor-e-nazar, but I want to unite the party even if I have to leave the position.”

 

“If anyone holds a meeting with Imran Khan without his (Salman Akram Raja’s) permission, would he be considered an establishment man?” questioned Marwat.

 

Declaring Manzoor-e-Nazar's term “disrespect” towards party leaders, Marwat said that he wondered why the chairman of PTI did not interrupt Raja during the media talk.

 

On being asked to comment on Raja’s statement that an action would be taken against those who met Imran Khan in jail while leaving Imran Khan’s sister behind, Marwat humorously said, “Given the consistency with which Salman Akram Raja is taking action, I can foresee that he might soon take action against Imran Khan as well.”

 

Speaking to journalists outside the IHC, Senator Zafar expressed regret over the PTI Secretary General’s “allegations”, saying that Raja’s remarks about the meeting with the party's founder had sparked a new controversy. 

 

He maintained that Imran Khan had ordered him to move the Supreme Court on the matter of permission to hold the meeting, adding that everyone has the right to meet Imran Khan.