PTI leader Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif has accused opposition figures Mahmood Khan Achakzai and Allama Raja Nasir Abbas of failing to work for the release of party founder Imran Khan, who remains in custody.
Speaking in a television interview, Saif said National Assembly Opposition Leader Achakzai — also chief of PkMAP (Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party) — was unwilling to sit with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for negotiations on Imran’s behalf. He argued that Imran had backed Achakzai for the opposition leader’s post so he could engage the government, but that Achakzai was “doing nothing” for the incarcerated PTI founder.
Talks with the government
Saif questioned what he described as Achakzai’s reluctance to hold talks. He said Achakzai had regained a National Assembly seat he had lost with the help of PML-N President Nawaz Sharif, yet was still not ready to engage Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif over Imran’s case.
He also criticised Achakzai for travelling to Quetta at what he called a crucial stage of the negotiation process. Separately, Saif alleged that Achakzai had contacted Nawaz Sharif and Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz to secure his own son’s release — a contrast Saif drew with the opposition leader’s stance on Imran.
Claims about Raja Nasir
Turning to Senate Opposition Leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, who heads the Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM), Saif said Raja Nasir was in contact with key figures in the establishment — a term commonly used in Pakistan for the military and security hierarchy — but maintained that those contacts were not aimed at securing Imran’s release.
Saif went further, saying Raja Nasir’s thinking was “limited to the deputy commissioner, tehsildar and patwari,” and adding that former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur had helped him become a senator.
What remains unclear
Saif’s remarks are allegations from a PTI leader; neither Achakzai nor Raja Nasir’s replies were part of the material available for this report. The dispute centres on how far opposition office-holders are using their posts to press the federal government over Imran Khan’s detention, and whether contacts with power centres are being used for that purpose.
Any formal talks between the opposition and the Shehbaz Sharif government on Imran’s release would depend on whether Achakzai and other opposition leaders choose to engage — the very step Saif says is missing.
Aasan alfaaz mein
PTI ke Barrister Saif ne kaha hai ke Achakzai aur Raja Nasir Imran Khan ki rihaai ke liye kuch nahi kar rahe. Unke mutabiq Achakzai Wazir-e-Azam Shehbaz se baat nahi karna chahte, aur Quetta chale gaye jab baat cheet ka waqt tha. Raja Nasir establishment se milte hain, lekin Saif kehte hain yeh Imran ke liye nahi. Aam logon ke liye yeh siyasat hai: Imran abhi jail mein hain, aur opposition leaders par ilzaam hai ke woh unke liye pressure nahi bana rahe.
