LAHORE: On Saturday, PML-N government spokespersons presented alleged leaked WhatsApp messages between PTI spokesperson Raoof Hasan and Aleema Khan, sister of jailed party leader Imran Khan, as evidence of internal divisions within the PTI.
The screenshots, reportedly from June 2023, suggest a conversation about a jailer and the former prime minister, though Imran Khan was only detained in August 2023.
Federal and Punjab information ministers, Attaullah Tarar and Azma Bukhari, pointed to the leaked messages as proof of a split within PTI, claiming that two factions—one led by Aleema Khan and another by Bushra Bibi—are vying for control in Imran Khan’s absence.
Tarar highlighted that the alleged messages reveal Aleema Khan accusing Bushra Bibi of misleading the party, further suggesting that PTI is experiencing internal chaos. He asserted that PTI, which often criticized state institutions, is now facing its own disintegration.
Bukhari echoed these claims, stating that the PTI’s internal discord is now widely discussed within the party’s WhatsApp groups, with both Aleema Khan and Bushra Bibi allegedly engaged in a power struggle for control.
This controversy follows the earlier arrest of Raoof Hasan over “anti-state propaganda,” during which his WhatsApp conversations with an Indian journalist were also leaked, leading to accusations of defaming state institutions.
