{"id":7678,"date":"2026-07-03T13:05:47","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T13:05:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pakistanaffairs.com.pk\/?p=7678"},"modified":"2026-07-03T13:05:48","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T13:05:48","slug":"leaders-insist-imrans-release-remains-ptis-ultimate-objective","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pakistanaffairs.com.pk\/index.php\/2026\/07\/03\/leaders-insist-imrans-release-remains-ptis-ultimate-objective\/","title":{"rendered":"Leaders insist Imran\u2019s release remains PTI\u2019s \u2018ultimate objective\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u2022 Salman Akram Raja says critics are \u2018hard of hearing\u2019, claims party has emerged as largest social force in the country
\u2022 Junaid Akbar Khan terms Balochistan \u2018guarantor of country\u2019s stability\u2019, assails govt over law and order situation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

LAHORE \/ QUETTA: Deflecting criticism that the party has lost its way in the face of government intransigence, leaders of the main opposition PTI maintained that securing Imran Khan\u2019s freedom remained their \u201cultimate objective\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In separate interactions with the media on Thursday, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja and the party\u2019s KP Chapter President Junaid Akbar Khan pilloried the government and attempted to brush aside the impression that the party had become side-tracked from the founder\u2019s mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking to reporters at the Lahore Press Club, Raja insisted that it was \u201ca false claim that the PTI has been suppressed\u201d or silenced, saying that critics \u201chave a hearing problem\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the contrary, he claimed, the party had emerged as \u201cthe largest social force\u201d in the country, and would \u201ccontinue challenging the system of tyranny and oppression\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Raja warned that a boiling point had been reached, adding that \u201crulers will fall short of bullets\u201d when people take to the streets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flanked by other PTI leaders, including the party\u2019s Lahore president Mian Akram Usman, Mr Raja said the party had braved political repression, brutal treatment meted out to leaders and workers and the harassment of their families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He insisted that the party leadership has not surrendered and remained in \u2018protest mode\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe will also launch a Jail Bharo Tehreek (court-arrest movement), if needed,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Commenting on the solitary confinement of the party founder and his spouse, Bushra Bibi, he warned that the rulers should \u201crein in their excesses\u201d as their actions were in violation of all laws at home and abroad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Guarantor of stability\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, speaking to reporters after meeting PTI office-bearers and senior members of the Tehreek-i-Tahaffuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP) alliance, Junaid Akbar Khan reiterated that the party\u2019s ultimate objective remained the struggle for the release of Imran Khan, the restoration of democracy, and achieving \u201creal freedom\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He called Balochistan a guarantor of Pakistan\u2019s stability, calling it one of the country\u2019s most important and beautiful regions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Junaid Akbar, who is also chairman of the National Assembly\u2019s Public Accounts Committee, said the province had been blessed with abundant natural resources, strategic geography, borders, Gwadar Port, and immense opportunities, but claimed that poor governance had deprived the people of basic necessities such as food, clothing, housing, and clean drinking water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Describing the situation in Balochistan as highly alarming, he expressed concern over ongoing developments in the province.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The solution to all these issues, he said, lay in the rule of law, constitutional supremacy, and democracy, adding that power in Balochistan should rest with those who enjoyed the confidence of the people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking about his meeting with Akhtar Mengal, he said the BNP-M leader remained an ally, adding that the PTI would continue to work alongside him.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u2022 Salman Akram Raja says critics are \u2018hard of hearing\u2019, claims party has emerged as largest social force in the country\u2022 Junaid Akbar Khan terms Balochistan \u2018guarantor of country\u2019s stability\u2019, assails govt over law and order situation LAHORE \/ QUETTA: Deflecting criticism that the party has lost its way in the face of government intransigence, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7679,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7678","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-policy-governance"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistanaffairs.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7678","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistanaffairs.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistanaffairs.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistanaffairs.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistanaffairs.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7678"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pakistanaffairs.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7678\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7680,"href":"https:\/\/pakistanaffairs.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7678\/revisions\/7680"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistanaffairs.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7679"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistanaffairs.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7678"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistanaffairs.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7678"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistanaffairs.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7678"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}