PTI leader Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif has strongly criticized opposition figures Mahmood Khan Achakzai and Allama Raja Nasir Abbas for failing to push hard enough for the release of party founder Imran Khan.
Speaking on Geo News programme Jirga, Saif said Senate Opposition Leader Raja Nasir remains in touch with important people in the establishment. However, those contacts are not being used to help free Imran Khan. He claimed the senator’s focus stays limited to local officials like the deputy commissioner, tehsildar and patwari. Saif added that former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur had played a role in helping Raja Nasir become a senator.
Saif also targeted National Assembly Opposition Leader Mahmood Khan Achakzai. He said the veteran politician refuses to sit down with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for any talks aimed at securing Imran Khan’s freedom. According to Saif, Achakzai regained a seat he had earlier lost with help from PML-N President Nawaz Sharif. Despite that support, Achakzai is still unwilling to negotiate with the current prime minister on behalf of the incarcerated PTI founder.
Saif further noted that Imran Khan had made Achakzai the opposition leader in the National Assembly so he could engage with the government. Instead, Achakzai left for Quetta at a critical stage of the negotiation process and has done little concrete work for Imran’s release. Saif also alleged that Achakzai contacted Nawaz Sharif and Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz only when he needed help to free his own son.
The PTI leader’s remarks highlight growing frustration inside the party over the slow progress on Imran Khan’s legal and political situation. Saif made it clear that both Achakzai and Raja Nasir hold influential opposition positions yet appear reluctant to use those positions for the benefit of the party founder. His comments on national television have once again brought the issue of Imran Khan’s continued detention into public focus and raised questions about the opposition’s unity and seriousness on the matter.
