Nothing can be said with certainty about on whose behest Fawad Chaudhry has suddenly become active.
The former minister in Imran Khan’s cabinet still identifies himself as part of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). He says he has launched his efforts to bring calm to the flared-up political environment and to secure Khan’s release from jail. For this, he has proposed a “roadmap”: the government should take a step forward, and Khan and PTI should take a step back.
Fawad claims that the current PTI leadership is incapable of freeing Khan. “They want Khan to remain behind bars so they can continue enjoying power politics in his name,” he says, citing what he calls the leadership’s “dead” activism for Khan’s release.
To advance his objective, Fawad—along with former Sindh governor Imran Ismail and ex-PTI MNA Mahmood Baqi Moulvi—met Shah Mahmood Qureshi at a hospital in Lahore. Fawad insists that Qureshi has expressed support for his efforts. However, the former foreign minister and PTI’s second-in-command after Imran Khan swiftly refuted that claim.
This raises the question: what has suddenly prompted Fawad’s renewed activism?
Within PTI, the leadership and most workers are unwilling to give space to Fawad and his two associates. The trio had distanced themselves from the party and its founder following May 9 incident. PTI workers accuse them of being “players” of the powerful military establishment and believe they are operating at its behest. They say Fawad is on a mission aligned with the so-called “minus-Imran-PTI” formula.
According to them, “the establishment seeks to break Imran Khan’s resolve by isolating him—persuading or pressuring his loyalists to abandon him.” In this context, five jailed PTI leaders hold particular significance. They are: Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Ejaz Chaudhry, Mian Mehmood-ur-Rasheed, Dr Yasmin Rashid, and Omar Sarfraz Cheema.
But will these leaders take the risk of leaving the party?
It seems unlikely. All five are long-time allies and devoted companions of Khan, having remained in jail for more than two years. Although there were rumors that Qureshi might part ways, he has stood firm so far. The rest have built their entire political careers around PTI and their association with Khan.
Yet, in Pakistan’s unpredictable politics—where the establishment wields ultimate control—nothing can be said with absolute certainty.
According to senior journalist Mujeeb-ur-Rehman Shami, as quoted by BBC Urdu in the context of Fawad’s renewed activism, meetings with jailed PTI leaders are not possible without the establishment’s approval. From Shami’s perspective, even if Fawad is acting independently, it is clear that he was “allowed” to meet Qureshi at the establishment’s behest.
Imran Khan:
Former prime minister Imran Khan remains the most discussed figure in Pakistan’s politics.
A majority of analysts believe he is also the most popular politician in the country. The PTI’s founding chairman has been in prison for over 28 months. He was arrested on August 5, 2023, from inside the Islamabad High Court.
While his opponents label him corrupt—and courts have sentenced him in several cases ranging from financial misconduct to conspiracy against the state—his followers regard him as the most honest and clean leader Pakistan has seen since its founder, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
Despite being behind bars and deprived of his party’s election symbol, Khan’s nominees secured sweeping victories across Pakistan in the national elections held in February 2024.
His critics describe his own tenure as prime minister (August 18, 2018 – April 10, 2022) as a “hybrid regime.” Khan’s supporters, however, apply the same term to the current government.
