PTI leadership takes note of infighting, asks groups to exercise restraint

PESHAWAR: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf Khyber Pakhtunkhwa president Junaid Akbar Khan on Saturday said that the party’s leadership had taken notice of infighting in the provincial chapter and directed groups to exercise restraint.

Talking to reporters at the PTI’s protest camp outside the provincial assembly’s building here, Mr Akbar said that the party’s political committee discussed the issue and issued instructions to both sides not to escalate the situation.

“Our political committee will soon take a decision on this matter, ensuring such a situation does not arise in future,” he said.

Currently, the ruling PTI’s KP chapter is facing a schism, with senior leaders at each other’s throats. A tug of war is under way between Speaker of the KP Assembly Babar Saleem Swati and former Senator Azam Swati, both from Mansehra district.

Akbar says Gandapur enjoys Imran’s trust, not being removed

Also, former minister Taimur Saleem Jhagra is engaged in a war of words with the party’s internal accountability committee and has gone public with his response to the committee’s questionnaire issued to him about administrative and financial issues from the time when he held the finance and health portfolios.

In a related development on Friday, some senior PTI leaders demanded of the leadership to order an investigation into the statement of Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur, who declared them “conspirators” in a recent podcast. The demand came from former National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser and former minister Shahram Khan Tarakai, with another senior party leader, Kamran Khan Bangash, coming out in their support.

Mr Akbar also appealed to party leaders, involved in the infighting, to stop from attacking each other, saying such a conduct is inappropriate.

“Differences in political parties are a normal thing but all these issues should be discussed at proper forums,” he said, urging all leaders to be “on the same page as differences are not good for the party’s interests.”

The PTI leader also said no one in the party had any clout.

He said party workers were neither associated with Ali Amin Gandapur or him, and that they would back whosoever had the support of party founder Imran Khan.

“Since Imran Khan is the party’s pivot, such differences are unlikely to harm the party as people trust Imran,” he said.

Mr Akbar said he had differences with Gandapur when he was taking over the office of the party’s KP president but in line with Imran’s orders, both of them buried the hatchet.

When asked whether former minister Mohammad Atif Khan is being made the president of PTI’s Peshawar region and Sher Ali Arbab the general secretary, he said every leader had to make his own team and he was comfortable with his one. Both office-bearers were removed while Ali Amin was heading the party’s provincial chapter.

Regarding the removal of the chief minister, Mr Akbar said that Gandapur enjoyed the trust of the PTI founder, so there was “no merit to talk about his removal.”

He also asked PTI workers and leadership to wear black armbands from Monday to protest the federal government’s “excesses” against the party.

“We are facing state oppression and state terrorism,” he said.

The PTI provincial president directed party workers and leaders to prepare for a massive protest movement to be launched on the directives of Imran Khan.

He said the PTI would take to the streets if its founder, Imran Khan, gave a call for it.

Published in Dawn, April 6th, 2025