PTI infighting worsens as leaders demand inquiry into CM Gandapur's remarks

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa [Pakistan], April 5 (ANI): Infighting within the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) escalated on Friday, as senior leaders Asad Qaiser and Shahram Khan Tarakai called for an inquiry into remarks made by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur, who had branded them "conspirators" in a recent podcast, Dawn reported.
The party's internal discord has grown increasingly public, with multiple rifts emerging across its Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chapter. Among the most visible are the ongoing row between KP Assembly Speaker Babar Saleem Swati and MNA Azam Khan Swati -- both from Mansehra -- and a separate dispute involving former provincial minister Taimur Saleem Jhagra and PTI's internal accountability committee.
Tensions intensified after Gandapur, while responding to a question about not awarding provincial tickets to certain leaders, claimed that PTI founder Imran Khan had directed him to withhold tickets from Asad Qaiser, Shahram Khan Tarakai, and Muhammad Atif Khan on the grounds that they were "conspirators," reported Dawn.
Reacting to this, both Qaiser and Tarakai -- who hail from Swabi -- took to social media to demand that the party leadership investigate the chief minister's claim.
"I demand from the central leadership of the party to conduct a thorough investigation into the recent statement of KP chief minister and the statement of chairman Imran Khan in this regard should be brought before the nation," Qaiser wrote.
He added: "We reserve the right to respond to the CM's statement, but in the current complicated situation, it is necessary for the country and PTI founder chairman Imran Khan to avoid such things."
He stressed the need to focus on larger goals, saying: "At this time, all our attention should be focused on the release of Imran Khan and other innocent prisoners. They do not want to weaken the struggle for the release of Imran Khan by inflaming the internal affairs of the party through unnecessary statements," Dawn reported.
Qaiser further said: "The chief minister should concentrate all his energies on the restoration of good governance and law and order in the province and the struggle for the release of Imran Khan and other innocent prisoners."
Echoing this stance, Shahram Tarakai in a social media post also called for an inquiry, while expressing restraint. "He said he reserved the right to respond to the chief minister's statement; however, he added, such a course of action would damage the party in the current situation."
"All efforts to weaken Khan Sahib and the party will fail. A leader keeps people together, does not divide them for personal ego or desire," he added. "He maintained that their first goal was Khan's release."
Muhammad Atif Khan, president of the party's Peshawar region chapter, struck a neutral tone. "Fake news is circulating regarding a statement associated to me, I haven't given any response till now to Ali Amin," he said in a post on X.
PTI KP president and MNA Junaid Akbar also denied any statement against Speaker Babar Saleem Swati or CM Gandapur. "Reports circulating in this regard on social media were fabricated," he said. (ANI)