PTI throws weight behind suspended K-P chief minister, says Afridi has PTI founder’s backing

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Thursday ruled out any change in the office of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) chief minister, reaffirming that Sohail Afridi would continue to hold the position with the support of party founder Imran Khan.

Emergency and governor’s rule were declared in K-P on October 11 after the talks between the government and opposition failed. On the same day, reports emerged that Afridi had also been taken into custody as the long march initiated on October 4 progressed and was on its way to Swabi. Since then, intraparty rifts reportedly emerged, leading to PTI leaders exchanging barbs online.

A day earlier, an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Peshawar issued arrest warrants for Afridi and other PTI leaders and office bearers in the May 9 attack case.

In a notification issued by the party’s central secretariat shared on X, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan said Afridi remained the party’s chief minister in the province and would continue in the role.

The notification directed all party members, office-bearers, parliamentarians and functionaries not to convene or participate in meetings, introduce agendas or initiate discussions concerning the nomination or replacement of the chief minister.

He also barred party members from entertaining proposals or engaging in any deliberations regarding alternative candidates for the office.

The notification categorically stated that only Imran had the authority to nominate an alternative candidate or change the decision.

“His decisions in this regard are final and binding upon all party members,” the notification read.

The directive comes amid an internal rift in the party, with differences over the party’s leadership and political strategy in K-P spilling into the public domain.

Read: Peshawar ATC issues arrest warrants for Sohail Afridi in Radio Pakistan attack case

On October 21, The Express Tribune reported that former K-P chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur and PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja had exchanged barbs over internal divisions, the provincial leadership and the handling of the party’s political affairs.

Raja warned of attempts by what he described as “undemocratic decision-makers” to undermine internal consensus, while Gandapur demanded that the party secretary general substantiate his allegations and apologise.

Gandapur also challenged claims that some K-P lawmakers were attempting to decide the party’s leadership and the next chief minister without the approval of PTI founder and the party’s political committee.

On October 24, Barrister Gohar sought to contain the fallout and issued a notification stating that the party’s provincial organisation in K-P would continue to function under the presidency of Junaid Akbar, highlighting that no changes to the provincial cabinet or organisational structure were on the cards.

According to the notification, Senator Noorul Haq Qadri, the party’s senior vice-president in K-P, would preside over meetings of the provincial cabinet in the absence of Akbar. The notification further assigned PTI K-P General Secretary Ali Asghar the responsibility of chairing meetings in the absence of the senior vice-president.