VIDEO: 'Salman Akram Raja resigned after Bushra Bibi abused him'

Journalist Kashif Abbasi has claimed that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Salman Akram Raja resigned after wife of party founder Imran Khan and former first lady, Bushra Bibi, hurled abuses at him among other party leaders.

Raja had on Thursday afternoon tendered his resignation to party chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan citing “personal reasons”. The party chief had confirmed the receipt of resignation; however, he had said that the same had not yet been accepted.

During his show later in the day, Abbasi claimed that the resignation came after the former first lady “humiliated and dishonoured” PTI leadership, “calling them bayghairat [shameless] and vultures seven times” in an earlier meeting. She once again used those words for party bigwigs in a meeting following the abrupt end to PTI’s Islamabad protests, the journalist added.

Claiming this was the reason behind Raja’s resignation as well as discontent among senior leaders of the party, Abbasi also quoted Raja as saying that he was “not accountable to any family member of Imran Khan”.

Meanwhile, journalist Shahzeb Khanzada claimed that Bushra’s behaviour was also the reason behind Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) Sahibzada Hamid Raza’s resignation from the PTI core and political committees.

Reports also quoted sources within the PTI as saying that Bushra’s insistence on marching towards D-Chowk was what led to party’s humiliation amid strong resistance from law enforcement. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister (CM) Ali Amin Gandapur did not want to advance past Kulsoom Hospital but the former first lady kept insisting, they said.

Speaking to a private media outlet, PTI leader Sher Afzal Marwat confirmed the claim. “The KP CM was stressed out as he did not want to proceed beyond the Kulsoom Hospital limit. He was not in favour of marching towards D-Chowk […] He even visited Bushra's vehicle twice,” he said.

The developments come following Tuesday night’s grand operation against PTI demonstrators in the federal capital. The crackdown prompted CM Gandapur and the former first lady to fall back and flee to KP where PTI is in power.

Prior to the operation, the two had led a mammoth convoy to Islamabad, demanding the release of incarcerated party founder Imran Khan. Convoys led by the duo as well as other leaders of the party met with heavy resistance from law enforcement.

With the three-day protests turning violent, multiple casualties were also reported.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi had on late Tuesday night addressed media to announce that the capital city had been cleared of protesters after a join operation by police and Rangers personnel.