By ABDULLAH 
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has been hit by another leadership shake-up as its Secretary General, Salman Akram Raja, announced his decision to step down from the post.
The senior lawyer revealed in a post on X that he will meet PTI founder Imran Khan to formally present his resignation, citing what he called “circumstances that demand a decisive step.”
“My life is an open book. None of my actions contradict any principle. I do not accept compromise on intellectual and economic integrity,” Raja wrote.
Despite leaving his administrative role, Raja said he would continue to serve the party as a legal counsel without charging any fee.
According to party insiders, Raja’s resignation followed a disagreement with Aleema Khan, sister of Imran Khan, over PTI’s strategy for the upcoming by-elections.
- Raja had presented the political committee’s voting breakdown, where 13 members supported contesting the elections while 9 opposed.
- Aleema Khan strongly disagreed, maintaining that contesting by-polls went against Khan’s instructions.
This clash reportedly left Raja “disheartened,” ultimately prompting him to step down.
This is not the first time Salman Akram Raja has offered to resign. Earlier, he had expressed frustration over internal divisions and difficulties in mobilising party workers.
Sources recall his differences with other senior members, including Barrister Ali Gohar, and reports of friction with Bushra Bibi during strategy meetings ahead of last year’s protest calls.
In a separate development, former Punjab leader Hammad Azhar announced that he would not contest the NA-129 Lahore by-election, which fell vacant after the death of his father, veteran politician Mian Azhar.
Instead, Azhar nominated his cousin Chaudhry Arsalan Zaheer as PTI’s candidate, citing personal constraints and legal vulnerabilities.
He explained that his family had faced repeated harassment in past elections and that Zaheer — who holds no pending cases — was a “safer choice” to protect the constituency from disqualification risks.
The resignation of Salman Akram Raja and Hammad Azhar’s withdrawal highlight the deepening internal challenges for PTI, already under heavy legal and political pressure:
- Dozens of senior PTI members face court cases related to the May 9 unrest.
- Party founder Imran Khan remains imprisoned in multiple cases despite securing bail in others.
- Leadership divisions persist over whether to boycott elections or remain engaged in parliamentary politics.
For a party that once projected unity and discipline, these developments show a widening gap between its legal, political, and strategic arms.
- Imran Khan – PTI Founder & former Prime Minister
- Salman Akram Raja – Resigned Secretary General (August 2025)
- Omar Ayub – Former Secretary General (resigned June 2024)
- Shibli Faraz, Zartaj Gul, Hamid Raza – Convicted in May 9 cases
- Hammad Azhar – Withdrew from NA-129 race, nominated cousin
- Aleema Khan – Khan’s sister, influential in party’s electoral decisions
The back-to-back announcements of Salman Akram Raja’s resignation and Hammad Azhar’s withdrawal mark another turning point in PTI’s internal politics. While Raja insists he will continue fighting PTI’s legal battles, his resignation reflects the growing leadership vacuum inside the party.
As PTI navigates these turbulent times, the question remains: can the party rebuild unity under its current structure, or will rifts widen further?