LAHORE — PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi reportedly refused to engage with three former PTI leaders — Fawad Chaudhry, Imran Ismail, and Maulvi Mahmood — who visited him at a Lahore hospital on Thursday in an attempt to persuade him to join their “Release Imran Khan” campaign.
According to Qureshi’s lawyer, Rana Mudassar Umer, the visit was unannounced, and the trio met Qureshi briefly while he was alone. He said Qureshi immediately asked the police to call his lawyer back, but by the time he arrived, the visitors had left.
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Sources claimed that the ex-PTI leaders were trying to show that Asad Umar was part of their initiative, but Umar denied any involvement, saying he had advised them against the hospital visit to avoid party friction and unnecessary disturbance to Qureshi’s family.
Fawad Chaudhry later said in a video message that the group aimed to lower political temperatures and create an environment conducive to dialogue. However, Qureshi’s lawyer dismissed these remarks as “deceptive,” accusing the ex-PTI leaders of staging the meeting for optics rather than genuine political engagement.
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Qureshi, who is hospitalised for gallbladder surgery, remains firm in his stance of not entering any deals with the government or establishment. His lawyer also criticised the jail administration for failing to provide adequate medical care to incarcerated PTI leaders, including Dr Yasmin Rashid and Mian Mahmoodur Rasheed.