ISLAMABAD: A meeting of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) parliamentary party in Islamabad turned tense on Tuesday, with several lawmakers leaving the committee room amid heated exchanges, sources told ARY News.
The meeting, which had been underway at Parliament House for seven hours, witnessed tension as party members discussed internal differences, negotiations with the government and preparations for a long march.
Sources said Faisal Amin Khan, brother of Ali Amin Gandapur, left the meeting in anger and shut the committee room door forcefully as he walked out.
PTI MNA Khawaja Sheraz also left the committee room. When other members called out to him, he replied that he would return after answering a phone call.
Ali Muhammad Khan and Shehryar Afridi also left the meeting. Responding to a journalist’s question, Ali Muhammad Khan said he would return after taking a phone call, while Shehryar Afridi said he was going to offer prayers.
Earlier in the meeting, the PTI parliamentary party had expressed full confidence in Sohail Afridi, Mahmood Khan Achakzai and Allama Nasir Abbas, according to sources.
Participants also agreed to strengthen the parliamentary party’s role alongside the core and political committees. They criticised party members for making statements against their own party in the media and called on Barrister Gohar to investigate those remarks.
Sources said Mashal Yousafzai expressed a lack of confidence in Sohail Afridi and the opposition leadership. She reportedly questioned Afridi’s focus on a long march while the party founder was ill, saying negotiations should have been the priority.
In response, Asad Qaiser said the party founder had expressed confidence in Sohail Afridi, Mahmood Khan Achakzai and Allama Nasir Abbas.
Shafqat Awan also urged Mashal Yousafzai not to accuse party members or Sohail Afridi, saying members should focus on challenging the government rather than blaming their own colleagues.
The majority of parliamentary party members supported continuing negotiations with the government, sources said. Noor-ul-Haq Qadri reportedly repeated the word “negotiations” three times during the meeting, prompting applause from participants.
