PTI Leadership Turns on Itself After Protest Debacle: Raja, Gandapur Trade Barbs

PESHAWAR: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s failed protest march has split the party’s top tier, with Secretary General Salman Akram Raja and former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur trading public accusations of betrayal. The PTI leadership rift broke into the open on Wednesday as both men aired their grievances on social media, exposing serious fissures inside the party’s core committee.

The row followed a Peshawar woman parliamentarian’s demand for accountability over the march that ended in governor’s rule in KP and fresh problems for jailed founder Imran Khan.

What triggered the PTI leadership rift

The row began after reports emerged that a group of KP Assembly lawmakers had met to endorse Gandapur’s nomination as acting provincial president. The post fell vacant in practice after MNA Junaid Akbar went missing following the imposition of governor’s rule.

A handwritten note addressed to interim party chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and Raja, seen by Dawn, said the meeting had “unanimously” proposed Gandapur as acting provincial president in Akbar’s absence. It described the former chief minister as “the right man for the right job”.

The October 14 meeting took place on Zoom and WhatsApp with around 55 provincial lawmakers, one participant said. Their agenda covered party organisation, talks with the government, further protests and legal issues.

Raja reacted with derision. He mocked what he called “the narrative” of a group of MPAs announcing a new provincial president without permission from Imran Khan or the political committee. He put the number of dissidents at 68.

Raja accused the group of cutting off contact with Sohail Afridi and his team in the march’s final days, paving the way for the emergency and governor’s rule.

Raja said provincial general secretary Ali Asghar remained the acting head and Afridi continued as chief minister under the law. “Those spreading doubts — the snakes and the serpents — will be defeated,” he wrote on X.

Gandapur fires back at Raja

An angry Gandapur hit back in posts and audio messages on X. He said the secretary general had no right to accuse others of conspiracy or call them names like “snakes and serpents”, and demanded an apology.

He accused Raja of “hiding” during the protest movement and asked what sacrifices he had rendered for the party. “At a time when the party is facing unprecedented political challenges, levelling vague accusations and using mocking language against your own elected representatives does not befit responsible leadership,” he wrote.

He also asked why Raja and Barrister Gohar had skipped parliamentary party meetings despite repeated invitations, and questioned who had given “a few individuals the authority to label these elected representatives as traitors, conspirators, or undemocratic”.

Leadership vacuum in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

The spat points to a deeper problem: a leadership vacuum. With governor’s rule in force, Junaid Akbar’s absence has left no recognised provincial president, while Raja insists Ali Asghar holds the acting charge and Sohail Afridi remains the lawful chief minister.

The crisis comes as the party tries to keep two tracks alive at once. On one hand, leaders such as Malik Aamir Dogar have signalled that the PTI could resume talks with the government, as reported earlier. On the other, the party continues to press for the release of its detained leaders, including Imran Khan’s sisters, whose detention was challenged before the Lahore High Court.

The federal government had weighed emergency steps in KP before the march collapsed, as reported earlier, and ministers have since defended governor’s rule as needed to restore order, as Amir Muqam argued in Peshawar.

Meanwhile, MPA Mashal Yousafzai, a former spokesperson for Bushra Bibi, has blamed Gandapur and a few other leaders for the failure of the protest march and the resulting governor’s rule.

What happens next

The two men have fought on social media before. In 2025, Gandapur clashed with then PTI Punjab organiser Aliya Hamza Malik, drawing a censure from Imran Khan, who told members to avoid expressing “internal differences” on any media platform.

Whether the party can close ranks now depends on who speaks for KP while governor’s rule lasts and whether planned talks with the government move forward. For now, neither question looks close to an answer.

*Source: Dawn*

Why did Raja and Gandapur clash publicly?

Salman Akram Raja rebuked a move by KP lawmakers to nominate Ali Amin Gandapur as acting provincial president without permission from Imran Khan or the political committee. Gandapur responded by demanding an apology and accusing Raja of name-calling.

Who is the acting PTI president in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa?

The position is disputed. Raja says provincial general secretary Ali Asghar holds the acting charge since MNA Junaid Akbar went missing after governor’s rule was imposed. A group of around 55 KP lawmakers instead endorsed Gandapur for the role.

What caused the PTI protest march to fail?

The march collapsed amid a state crackdown and was followed by the imposition of governor’s rule and emergency measures in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. A Peshawar woman parliamentarian has demanded accountability from the party leadership over the failure.