A faction of lawmakers from Pakistan's ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has exposed deep internal rifts and severe administrative failure, expressing grave concerns over a lack of efforts by the top leadership to secure the freedom of jailed party founder Imran Khan.
Emergency Meeting and Letter to Party Chairman
According to a report by Dawn, the legislators also slammed deteriorating governance issues across the province, demanding a comprehensive and organised action plan to address the systemic crisis. The disgruntled members of the Provincial Assembly, reportedly sidelined and denied positions during the recent cabinet expansion, convened an emergency meeting in Peshawar before dispatching an explosive letter to PTI chairman Barrister Gohar Ali.
Betrayal and Deviation from Core Direction
The correspondence highlighted a growing sense of betrayal, stating that the handling of the movement for Imran Khan's release and his health was fuelling widespread anxiety among workers, supporters and patriotic citizens. Exposing the superficial nature of the party's current political agitation, the letter noted that workers feel the release movement has deviated from its core direction and become limited merely to health and treatment matters. The ongoing movement for the leader's release appears largely limited to formal statements, restricted protest activities and symbolic measures. A new strategy should be formulated to make the movement effective, organised and result-oriented.
Corruption and Nepotism Allegations
The rebel lawmakers cautioned that if these foundational issues were not handled swiftly and productively, the party risked facing severe political fallout. Dawn reported that the legislators openly revolted against corruption and nepotism within the provincial administration, raising serious red flags regarding interference by irrelevant individuals in the provincial government's affairs, deviation from merit, unfair distribution of resources and lack of proper consultation with relevant MPAs in decisions about their constituencies' powers and development resources. Demanding an immediate halt to opaque backroom dealings, the participants insisted that all state operations must be brought in line with transparency, merit, institutional discipline and consultation with elected public representatives.
Intense Debates and Media Criticism
The internal communication revealed that during the parliamentary session, the lawmakers held intense debates on the crumbling political landscape, the prolonged incarceration of Imran Khan, the abandonment of grassroots workers and the utter failure of the ongoing agitation. They also lashed out at local media networks for generating a false narrative by linking assembly representatives to splinter factions. Defending their stance, the letter clarified that all assembly members are committed to the ideology, manifesto and vision of PTI founder Imran Khan and are neither working on the agenda of any group, faction or personality nor do they associate themselves with any specific group.
Demands for a Result-Oriented Strategy
The politicians demanded a positive, comprehensive, effective and result-oriented strategy to secure the release of the former prime minister. A legislator told Dawn that approximately 20 lawmakers remained deeply resentful after being denied lucrative cabinet berths. Highlighting the scale of the state's heavy-handedness, the lawmakers noted that alongside Imran Khan, hundreds of party leaders and workers are also enduring the hardships of imprisonment, necessitating an organised roadmap for their legal aid and family support. The communication urged the leadership to deploy a coordinated, active and effective legal strategy to pursue the cases of Imran, party leaders and workers to project a semblance of seriousness to the public.
Implementation of Imran's Vision
The disgruntled lawmakers emphasised that under the current dispensation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, it was vital that Imran's vision, merit, transparency and good governance should be implemented in practice across all sectors. They insisted on a mechanism to block external meddling and push the provincial administration to set an example of public service and excellent governance. According to Dawn, a copy of the letter was also forwarded to the central secretary general and central information secretary. The local lawmaker added that the disgruntled group boycotted a parliamentary meeting summoned by Chief Minister Sohail Afridi to expose the facade of unity, choosing instead to travel to Rawalpindi to stage demonstrations outside Adiala Jail.
Leadership's Response
Meanwhile, Barrister Gohar Ali has ignored the internal revolt as he remains preoccupied with the party's election campaign in Pakistan-occupied Gilgit-Baltistan (PoGB).
