Questions have been raised within the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) over Senator Mashal Yousafzai’s election, with senior party figures expressing reservations about the process through which she was awarded the party ticket.
Aleema Khan, sister of the jailed former prime minister Imran Khan, has questioned why Mashal Yousafzai was given the party ticket, claiming that the PTI founder had directed that she should not be awarded a ticket.
“She should not have been given a ticket from the centre, and the founder of PTI had also ordered not to give her a ticket,” Aleema Khan said on Wednesday. She questioned who ultimately issued the ticket to Mashal Yousafzai, adding to speculation over the decision-making process within the party.
The controversy comes a day after PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja said he did not have the authority to remove Senator Mashal from the party. He said Mashal was not acting alone and claimed that a group was behind her. He added that the facts surrounding the matter would become clear with time.
The PTI secretary general said he had opted to exercise restraint in the broader interest of the party in order to avoid creating further divisions among its ranks.
The statements by Aleema Khan and Salman Akram Raja have once again brought internal differences within PTI into focus, particularly over party decision-making, the allocation of tickets and the authority of senior leadership.
The latest developments are likely to fuel further debate within PTI circles over the circumstances surrounding Mashal’s election as senator and the internal dynamics influencing key party decisions.