ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) newly constituted political committee has become a battleground of internal contradictions, exposing how key leaders are retreating from earlier aggressive positions while expecting others to carry politically risky narratives on their behalf.
At the centre of emerging rift is Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi who, according to party insiders, is now publicly shy to display anti-establishment stance he had initially adopted after assuming office. Instead, sources said, the chief minister wants PTI’s central information wing to take an “aggressive” line, particularly on the issue of drone attacks.
This approach has brought Afridi into direct confrontation with the party’s information wing, whose members have pushed back against being used as a proxy to target the military on an issue which falls within the provincial government’s domain.
The friction surfaced sharply during the most recent meeting of the political committee, where Afridi reportedly pressed for a strong condemnation of drone attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including explicitly naming the military as responsible. Members of the central information wing, including Shaikh Waqas Akram, resisted, arguing that they have consistently condemned drone attacks in general terms, directly blaming the military was neither their mandate nor politically prudent.
According to the participants, the information wing advised that if the chief minister believed in the position, he should issue the statement himself, or through the provincial government. Alternatively, they said, a party statement could only be issued if the political committee formally approved it. No decision was taken on the issue.
“The chief minister has softened publicly but, behind closed doors, wants others to say what he is now shy to utter in public,” said an insider.
The source recalled that during the previous provincial administration under Ali Amin Gandapur, drone incidents were fewer and were immediately condemned, with FIRs registered on explicit instructions from Adiala jail. Since the current set-up took office, however, more than two dozen drone attacks have allegedly occurred, yet the provincial leadership has largely avoided direct confrontation on the issue.
Despite at least three meetings of the reconstituted political committee being held, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan has not attended a single session. In practice, sources said, the committee is being run by Secretary General Salman Akram Raja, who does not formally recognise Gohar Ali Khan as the party chairman.
The most recent meeting, convened by Raja two days ago, was largely driven by Aleema Khan’s public call to mobilise 10,000 supporters outside the Adiala jail last Tuesday — reinforcing the perception among party leaders that Raja is functioning more as Aleema Khan’s spokesperson than as a neutral organisational head.
The mobilisation call triggered sharp disagreement within the committee. Members pointed out that an earlier internal understanding had divided responsibility for Adiala jail gatherings on alternate Tuesdays, with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab taking turns. As January 6 fell on KP’s turn, some participants argued that the burden rested squarely on the KP chapter.
It was during this discussion that KP PTI chief Junaid Akbar Khan effectively signalled a breakdown of command and control. According to sources, he openly questioned whom he was expected to obey — Imran Khan, Bushra Bibi, Aleema Khan, Mehmood Khan Achakzai, Salman Akram Raja or Barrister Gohar Ali Khan — before laying out the practical impossibility of delivering large crowds without funds.
Junaid Akbar also highlighted that under the previous arrangement, Ali Amin Gandapur personally arranged finances for legal aid, injured workers and families of detainees. The support has dried up. Participants estimated that mobilising 10,000 people would require at least Rs10-15 crore, with no mechanism in place to raise or disburse such funds.
Junaid Akbar had effectively “raised his hands,” signalling that KP could not be expected to deliver on numbers dictated without consultation, resources or clarity of authority.
While the party has asked all its MPs to donate Rs50,000 a month to the party fund, Junaid told the meeting that the MPs from KP can’t contribute. It enraged some other participants.
These developments point to a deeper crisis within the PTI whose senior leaders retreating from their own narratives, organisational authority fragmented, and a political committee increasingly driven by external pressures rather than collective decision-making.
At a time when PTI faces sustained political and legal pressure, insiders warn that confusion, contradictions and leaders “hiding behind others” may prove more damaging than external challenges.
Shaikh Waqas, when contacted on the controversies related to last meeting of the political committee, said that he is not supposed to discuss or share the internal deliberations of the party with the media.
