PESHAWAR: Internal differences within Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have intensified, with the dispute now spilling over into party WhatsApp groups.
According to party sources, the provincial leadership has issued directives barring the party’s parliamentary committee from contacting “dissatisfied” members of the provincial assembly.
The instructions advised the party leaders against encouraging individuals who take internal party matters to the media. The directives prohibited meetings with those accused of undermining party discipline.
Former chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur criticized the notification, describing it as unreasonable. “Political parties do not function through such orders,” he said in the party WhatsApp group, adding that those elements who had openly criticized the party in the past were now holding key positions.
“Why is there one standard for some and another for others? This double standard is unacceptable,” Gandapur remarked. He warned that threats and notices would not end internal differences but would instead deepen them.
A member of the Provincial Assembly and former speaker of KP Assembly, Mushtaq Ahmed Ghani, also questioned the provincial leadership’s move. “We only asked for a practical plan for the release of Imran Khan,” he said in the WhatsApp group, adding that party workers frequently ask what strategy is being pursued to secure the former prime minister’s freedom.
The MPA from Abbottabad maintained that protests outside Adiala Jail alone were insufficient and called for a more effective movement. He stressed that Imran Khan’s health and release should remain the party’s top priority.
Another party MPA from Nowshera, Muhammad Idrees Khattak, sharply reacted to the notification, saying that raising one’s voice for Imran Khan had effectively been turned into a crime. “Those who speak for Imran Khan are being threatened and served with notices,” he alleged.
He stated that PTI belonged solely to Imran Khan and cautioned that no one else should attempt to assume his role.
The latest developments underscore growing divisions within PTI’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chapter, with disagreements now extending to internal communication platforms, including party WhatsApp groups.
