No chance of Imran getting out of jail under current PTI leadership: Fawad Chaudhry

Former information minister Fawad Chaudhry on Sunday said that he did not see any chance of incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan being released from Adiala Jail as long as the current party leadership is in charge.

His remarks were the latest in a series of broadsides launched against the present PTI leadership over the past week.

Chaudhry, who left the PTI in the aftermath of the state’s crackdown against the party following May 9 riots, said earlier this month that the current PTI leadership had badly failed to provide a political strategy due to which problems were exacerbating for the party despite enjoying massive public support.

“The real focus of the PTI should be on building an opposition alliance with Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Mahmood Khan Achakzai, Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) and Jamaat-i-Islami,” Chaudhry had said while speaking to journalists at his residence in Ladhar.

Separately, in a private conversation with Dawn on Thursday, Chaudhry said no one in the current party leadership had the “political stature” or the ability to mobilise the masses as Imran did. .

Chaudhry had even claimed there were people in the party who did not want to see Imran Khan out of jail as that would spell the end of their political careers.

In a fresh video message on his account on X today, Chaudhry said a number of people advised him not to criticise the leadersip as it would weaken the party. However, he said, he did not see even “1 per cent” chance that Imran would be released from prison as long as the present leaderhip takes strategic decisions.

He said he was criticised for “returning” now that the “good times” were back but wondered if the current situation can be regarded as such.

“There are 47 cases against me which are ongoing,” he said, adding that “bad times” had not ended for leaders who were still in prison or facing charges.

He said that a large number of PTI leadership was still in prison. “The bad times have probably [only] ended for the people who did not face any difficulty,” he said.

“There is not even 1pc chance that the current leadership can bring Imran out [of jail],” he said.

He said that the current party leadership neither had any political strategy, nor the capacity to create one.

Without naming anyone, he accused the PTI’s secretary information of charging money to the party for his services, accusing the party leadership of running “their own economies”.

He said that the veteran members of the party should be included in the decision making so that a political plan could be created.

Later in the day, while speaking to Geo News TV, Chaudhry said that the present PTI leadership should also allow others to approach Imran in jail.

“This leadership is not letting access to Imran Khan so that their ‘business model’ keep working,” he said.

While responding to the party’s counter accusation that Chaudhry was “desperate” to come back, he said: “Of course, I am desperate, I am desperate because i can see how these people are sinking the ship […] They don’t have any political strateygy.”