- Sources say Gohar warned Afridi that force’s creation can be construed illegal.
- PTI chairman attempts to build PTI-opposition alliance consensus against the move.
- Sources say CM planned to administer oath to proposed force members.
ISLAMABAD: PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan has intervened to stop Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi from proceeding with a controversial plan to raise an “Imran Khan Release Force.”
Party sources told The News that the intervention, both direct and through senior party figures, came after the chief minister’s public announcement that a dedicated force would be created to secure the release of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan.
Sources disclosed that Barrister Gohar conveyed a blunt warning (to the KP CM) that the creation of any entity described as a “force,” particularly one requiring members to take an oath for a political objective, could be construed as unconstitutional, unlawful, and potentially falling within the ambit of militancy.
The PTI chairman is said to have also engaged opposition leaders, including Mehmood Khan Achakzai and Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, in an apparent effort to build political consensus within the PTI and the opposition alliance against the move, reflecting the seriousness with which the proposal is being viewed in political circles.
According to insiders, the KP chief minister had planned to administer an oath to members of the proposed force on February 22. However, the move was quietly shelved at the last minute following internal objections, with indications that the chief minister intends to take the oath after Ramazan.
Senior PTI figures privately concede that the plan triggered alarm within the party’s central leadership, which fears that forming a quasi-organisational “force” could expose the party to legal action and accusations of promoting confrontation.
Barrister Gohar reportedly advised that if mobilisation for Khan’s release was necessary, the party should instead establish lawful political committees at provincial, regional, and district levels — a strategy historically employed for political movements without inviting constitutional complications
The issue also dominated deliberations at a recent meeting of PTI’s political committee, where participants were instructed to avoid public commentary on the matter, suggesting an attempt by the leadership to contain a potentially damaging internal controversy.
The episode underscores growing tensions within PTI over strategy, with some leaders favouring aggressive mobilisation while others advocate a cautious, legally defensible approach as the party navigates an increasingly fraught political landscape.
It is alleged that the underground PTI leader Murad Saeed is the man who gave the idea of “Imran Khan release force” to the KP CM. Afridi was also the nominee of Saeed for the top slot of KP’s chief executive. Khan didn’t personally know Afridi before.
Originally published in The News
