RCCI calls for stronger Pakistan-Indonesia trade ties

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Secretary General Salman Akram Raja has acknowledged that the party is facing internal differences and grouping, saying that the lack of contact with party founder Imran Khan for the past nine months has made decision-making much more difficult. In a post on X, Salman Akram Raja said that, for the first time in the party’s history, there has been no contact with Imran Khan for nine months. He said that issues and disputes that were previously resolved within minutes through the party founder’s guidance now become the subject of long discussions. His remarks suggest that the absence of the jailed PTI founder has created a leadership gap, allowing disagreements within the party to become more visible. Raja also admitted that PTI had faced what he described as a “planned campaign” to weaken the party during this period. According to him, efforts were made from within the party to create problems, but senior leaders remained united and resisted those attempts. “I am grateful to Imran Khan’s senior colleagues who stood firm against these failed attempts,” he said. The PTI secretary general also claimed that another challenge comes from social media, where he said three different groups are active against the party’s interests. According to Raja, the first group consists of people who are formally linked to the media teams of PTI’s political opponents. The second group, he said, includes people within PTI who are seeking party positions and view certain leaders as obstacles to their ambitions. His statement is being seen as a rare public acknowledgment that internal rivalries and competition for positions exist within the party. Raja said the third group includes sincere PTI supporters who genuinely want Imran Khan’s release and the party’s success. He described them as passionate young people and older supporters who may not be fully aware of all developments. He argued that while emotional slogans are easy to raise, developing and following an effective political strategy requires patience, understanding and careful planning. Referring to calls for immediate action, Raja said that a political revolution cannot be achieved simply by gathering “one truck and 20,000 to 30,000 people.” He stressed that successful movements require well-thought-out strategies rather than emotional decisions. He added that every PTI worker wants Imran Khan to be released as soon as possible, but said the party must adopt practical and successful methods instead of relying on slogans alone. Raja’s comments come at a time when PTI has faced repeated speculation about internal divisions, disagreements over strategy and criticism exchanged on social media by supporters of different leaders. While he blamed external forces for trying to weaken the party, his remarks also indicate that internal competition, differences over leadership and disagreements about political strategy have become significant challenges for PTI during the prolonged absence of direct communication with its founder. His statement is likely to fuel further debate about unity within the party as it continues to navigate political and organisational challenges.

Senior Pakistani actress Bushra Ansari has clarified her recent remarks after social media pages linked a story she shared during a podcast to actors Saira Yousuf and Shehroz Sabzwari. Bushra Ansari, who remains popular for her acting as well as her personal vlogs, recently discussed an incident involving the marriage of the only son of close friends during a podcast conversation. However, some social media pages allegedly connected the story to Saira Yousuf and Shehroz Sabzwari. In her latest vlog, Bushra Ansari expressed surprise over the way her comments had been presented online. She explained that she had been talking about close friends who are associated with the banking sector and had never said that the people involved in the story were actors. According to the actress, she was discussing a couple whose marriage ended because of differences over living arrangements. She said the wife wanted to establish a separate home, while the husband was unwilling to leave his parents. Bushra Ansari said that some social media pages subsequently used pictures of Saira Yousuf and Shehroz Sabzwari alongside the story, creating the impression that she had been referring to the former couple. The veteran actress strongly rejected the interpretation and criticized what she described as misleading and negative social media reporting. She said that parts of conversations are sometimes taken out of context and presented in a way that creates an entirely different narrative. Bushra Ansari also came to Saira Yousuf’s defense, describing her as a respectable person and saying that she continues to maintain good relations with members of her former in-laws’ family. She further said that Saira shares a loving relationship with her daughter, Zahra, and suggested that the families involved understand their relationships better than outsiders speculating on social media. The actress questioned why she would use the names of people close to her while discussing an unrelated personal story. She emphasized that the people she had mentioned in the podcast were her banker friends and that the story had no connection to Saira Yousuf or Shehroz Sabzwari. Bushra Ansari’s clarification comes amid growing speculation surrounding celebrities on social media, where comments from interviews and podcasts can quickly be reshared without their original context. The actress urged people to avoid believing or spreading claims based on misleading interpretations and reiterated that her original comments were not about Saira Yousuf and Shehroz Sabzwari.