PESHAWAR: Differences in the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) over the Senate ticket distribution have intensified after the KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur and the party’s political committee failed to placate the disgruntled members.
The first round of negotiations, held in Peshawar earlier in the day, ended without consensus after five covering candidates refused to withdraw from the race.
They rejected the party leadership’s directive to step aside under a 6-5 formula that allocates six Senate seats to the PTI and five to the opposition parties.
The dissidents demanded that one seat each from Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUIF) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) be reclaimed before they would consider withdrawing. A second meeting took place later the same night between the chief minister and the same dissident candidates, but it also failed to yield an agreement. The issue has now escalated from differences to a revolt.
Sources said after the agreement with the opposition, Gandapur personally tried to appease the angry members through telephonic contacts and even met them at the CM House, but the disgruntled members stuck to their guns.
A total of five candidates have refused to withdraw their papers from the polls slated for Monday.
Among these candidates, Irfan Saleem, Khurram Zeeshan and Waqas Orakzai are hoping for a general seat, former additional inspector general of police Syed Irshad Hussain, is a candidate for the seat reserved for technocrats and Ayesha Bano is a candidate for the reserved seats for women.
The PTI and the opposition the other day reached an agreement on the election of their candidates unopposed for the Senate.
Under the formula agreed with the opposition parties, the PTI’s unopposed candidates include Murad Saeed, Faisal Javed, Mirza Muhammad Afridi, Noorul Haq Qadri, Azam Swati, and Rubina Naz.
The opposition’s nominees are Talha Mahmood, Atta-ul-Haq Dervish, Rubina Khalid, Dilawar Khan, and Niaz Ahmad.
The dissidents argue that the PTI’s mandate is being compromised.
“Why should opposition candidates be accommodated without a contest?” one member of the group was quoted as saying.
Insiders confirmed that the chief minister had instructed the group to withdraw unconditionally, but they remained defiant.The standoff escalated when former PTI Peshawar City President Rehman Jalal addressed a press conference at the Peshawar Press Club, warning the leadership to revise the ticket list or face street protests.
Jalal condemned the exclusion of Irfan Saleem from the final nominees, saying Irfan had stood by the party through the post-May 9 crackdown, endured imprisonment, and deserved recognition.
He alleged that Irfan Saleem was being pressured to withdraw his nomination and vowed that workers would not remain silent.
“This is not just injustice — this is betrayal,” Jalal said. “We will lay siege to the KP Assembly on the Election Day and block all lawmakers from entering if this decision is not reversed.”
Jalal also announced a boycott campaign against those backing what he called “ATM candidates” and claimed that 15 MPAs were in contact with the dissident bloc.
He said the protest movement would formally begin on July 21 if their demands were ignored.
Meanwhile, the disgruntled members held a meeting in Peshawar, attended by Irfan Saleem, Khurram Zeeshan, Ayesha Bano, Irshad Hussain and Waqas Orakzai.
Sources say the angry members decided not to withdraw papers and raise their voice at every forum. After the CM’s failure to reconcile with the angry members, the party’s political committee also met late last night at the CM House, but after lengthy discussions, the meeting ended without any result.
A large number of party workers have staged protests and run aggressive social media campaigns, especially for three of the loyal workers — Khurram Zeeshan Advocate, Irfan Saleem and Ayesha Bano. The demanded that the senior leadership nominate Irfan Saleem as main contender for the Upper House.
Irfan is currently PTI Peshawar district president and is an active member of the party. Ayesha Bano is a former MPA and vice president of the party in KP.
Khurram Zeeshan, is a former civil judge and a practicing lawyer, who secured bail for hundreds of party workers after appearing in court on their behalf in the May 9 cases. He is currently the deputy information secretary of the PTI KP.
“My final decision is that I am not withdrawing my nomination papers whatever the result is,” Khurram Zeeshan told The News. He also refused to meet Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur.
“There will be no compromise or bargaining over the theory of Imran Khan and the sacrifices of martyrs of May 9 and November 26. Their blood will not be sold. Except Allah, there is no fear of anyone, nor is there any greed in our heart. We stand for the truth and will continue to stand by it,” Khurram tweeted on Friday.
The same was tweeted by Irfan Saleem and Ayesha Bano.The workers have been running a campaign for the last many days demanding that instead of well-off candidates, the party should field loyal and committed workers who can better represent the party in the Senate.The internal rebellion has cast serious doubt over the feasibility of holding unopposed Senate elections in KP, despite the government-opposition formula agreed upon earlier this week.
