PTI General Secretary Salman Akram Raja denounced the latest statements made by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s spokesperson Barrister Saif on inviting Indian FM Jaishankar to the party’s protest.
In a TV talk show, Barrister Saif said that protest is the constitutional right of PTI and that the party will invite Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar who is visiting Pakistan for the SCO summit to the party protest in D-Chowk. He added that the PTI would invite the Indian foreign minister to attend its protest and address it so that he could see how strong democracy was in Pakistan and how people were free to exercise their right to protest.
Salman Akram Raja on his X account denounced the statements passed by Barrister Saif. He said: “If Barrister Saif has said what’s been attributed to him, I dissociate myself and PTI from his statement. PTI’s struggle for democratic values and an independent judiciary is our domestic calling. We expect all those who uphold human rights to support us, not oppressive regimes.”
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Barrister Saif also received condemnation from the party supporters and workers on social media. Some are demanding his resignation and others are asking to terminate him from the party altogether.
Former party leader Shireen Mazari speaking up on the issue backed the statements passed by Salman Akram Raja. She said, “If PTI was to make a foreign policy statement it would never come from Barrister Saif but from the central leadership. @salmanAraja is correct.”
PTI followers and supporters showed a lack of confidence in Barrister Saif and demanded the party leadership to take swift action against him. On Friday, Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar announced his decision to visit Pakistan for the SCO Summit. He, however, clarified that he will not be visiting Pakistan to improve bilateral relations but to show himself as a good member of SCO.