ISLAMABAD — The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) parliamentary party has decided to give only conditional backing to the proposed 28th Constitutional Amendment — a change to the country’s basic law — if party founder Imran Khan is released, sources familiar with the meeting said.
The decision, taken during a parliamentary party session at Parliament House, answers the immediate question many readers are asking: PTI has not agreed to support the amendment without that condition. According to those sources, a majority of participants favoured tying the party’s vote to Imran Khan’s release.
Conditional backing and the new committee
Alongside that political stance, the meeting resolved to form a six-member steering committee. Its brief is to deal with access to Imran Khan and with his medical treatment, and to negotiate with the government and other relevant individuals on those issues.
Opposition leaders Mahmood Khan Achakzai and Allama Raja Nasir Abbas will head the committee, sources said. It is to include two members of the National Assembly and two senators, with one representative each from Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Seven hours of tension in Parliament House
The session ran for about seven hours and was marked by strain. Party members discussed internal differences, talks with the government, and preparations for a long march — a prolonged protest mobilisation — sources said.
Earlier in the same meeting, several PTI lawmakers left the committee room amid heated exchanges. Faisal Amin Khan, brother of Ali Amin Gandapur, left in anger and shut the door forcefully as he walked out, according to sources. PTI MNA Khawaja Sheraz also stepped out; when colleagues called after him, he said he would return after taking a phone call.
Ali Muhammad Khan and Shehryar Afridi likewise left the room. Asked by a journalist, Ali Muhammad Khan said he would come back after a phone call, while Shehryar Afridi said he was going to offer prayers.
What remains unclear
Sources described the party’s position and the committee’s mandate, but they did not say when — or whether — Imran Khan’s release would take place, or what exact clauses of the proposed 28th Amendment are under discussion. Any timetable for a vote or for further talks with the government was not set out in the accounts available.
For now, PTI’s public posture, as reported by those close to the meeting, is that support for the amendment depends on Imran Khan’s release, while a cross-provincial steering group is meant to press for access and medical care.
Aasan alfaaz mein
PTI ne kaha hai ke woh 28th Amendment tabhi support karegi jab Imran Khan riha honge. Party ne un tak pahunch aur ilaj ke liye chheh-member committee bhi banayi hai. Meeting Parliament House mein lambi aur sakht rahi, kuch members baahar nikal gaye. Aam logon ke liye yeh siyasi bargain hai — jail se rihaai aur aain mein tabdeeli ek dusre se judi hui hain.
