PESHAWAR:
Infighting within the ruling PTI has spilled into the open following the emergence of a dissident faction, triggering a heated exchange between disgruntled lawmakers and allies of the chief minister.
Meanwhile, dissident members are beginning to surface one by one in the provincial assembly. After the emergence of group leader Mushtaq Ghani, Fazal Elahi and Idris Khattak have also come forward.
Fazal Elahi has even warned that the provincial budget could be blocked if the party fails to announce a movement for the release of Imran Khan.
On the other hand, Provincial Information Minister Shafi Jan said PTI founder Imran Khan had expressed reservations about dissident lawmaker Mushtaq Ahmed Ghani, adding that his standing within the party would be taken up at the next meeting with the PTI founder.
Responding sharply, Ghani rejected the statement, saying: “Mr Shafi Jan, I would request that you speak in accordance with your stature and position, and refrain from making allegations without proper verification.”
He said their stance was unequivocal and centred on a single-point agenda: launching an effective campaign and adopting a concrete course of action for the release of PTI founder Imran Khan. “We have no intention of toppling the government, threatening anyone’s position, or opening any front against any individual,” he said.
Rejecting the allegations regarding Imran Khan’s reservations, Ghani questioned: “If that were true, why did he trust me enough to grant me a party ticket?”
He further said that during his meeting with Imran Khan in jail, the PTI founder had told him: ‘Mushtaq, I want to see you in the cabinet’.
“In light of the allegations being levelled against me, I consider it necessary to place the facts before the public and party workers regarding what transpired after that meeting with Imran Khan,” he added.
Separately, MPA Fazal Elahi reiterated that their agenda was a single point: the release of Imran Khan. He said that if the chief minister convenes a workers’ convention and takes an oath to announce a sit-in or protest for Khan’s release, they would stand with the government.
“Otherwise, we will not support the passage of the budget,” he warned.
Elahi added that this time, the protest would not be one that ends with merely “touching the wall and returning,” saying they would not return without securing Imran Khan’s release.
