Islamabad (TDI): Salman Akram Raja, Secretary General of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), resigned on Thursday amid mounting internal criticism following the party’s recent protest in Islamabad.
His resignation came just one day after PTI’s protest march in the capital, which was marred by low participation from senior party figures.
The protest, demanding the release of PTI’s imprisoned founder Imran Khan, saw key members, including Raja, absent from the high-profile rally at D-Chowk.
This absence sparked criticism within the party, with some members accusing the leadership of failing to show up for the cause.
Raja’s resignation followed this discontent, but PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, also absent from the protest, confirmed the resignation and subsequently rejected it.I
n a video message, Raja claimed that at least 20 PTI supporters had been killed by live fire during the protest, although the government reported that four soldiers had died in the violence.
Former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa minister Shaukat Yousafzai was one of the loudest critics, accusing Raja and Barrister Khan of neglecting their duties by not attending the protest.
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The protest, which began on Sunday, was organized to demand Imran Khan’s release after his imprisonment in August 2023.
The demonstration, initially led by Khan’s wife, Bushra Bibi, and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Ali Amin Gandapur, was disrupted by a heavy crackdown from law enforcement at D-Chowk near Pakistan’s parliament.
Both Bushra Bibi and Gandapur were criticized for their sudden disappearances during the crackdown, with Gandapur making a brief appearance in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while Bushra has not been seen publicly since.
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The internal turmoil and leadership failures have fueled claims that the party’s struggles are being exacerbated by its top leadership.
“All the responsibility lies with the central leadership,” said Shaukat Yousafzai, condemning the party’s leadership for failing to support the protest effectively.
Salman Akram Raja, a senior lawyer appointed by Imran Khan as Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Secretary General in September, is the latest figure to step down amid the growing crisis within the party, which continues to face internal divisions and external pressures.
