Slug: pti-dismisses-internal-rifts-dogar-talks-government
Category: National
Focus keyphrase: PTI internal rifts talks government
SEO title: PTI Denies Internal Rifts as Dogar Hints at Talks
Meta description: PTI whip Malik Aamir Dogar says talks with the government could resume soon, dismissing reports of internal rifts over the KP chief ministership.
Tags: PTI, Malik Aamir Dogar, internal rifts, Sohail Afridi, talks, governor’s rule, Barrister Gohar, Ali Amin Gandapur
Original element: explainer context — the story is placed inside our running governor’s-rule coverage arc (Tarar’s ban remarks, the joint-session resolutions, the PHC stay on the deputy speaker’s arrest), showing readers how the talks signal fits the week’s sequence.
PTI Dismisses Reports of Internal Rifts as Dogar Signals Possible Resumption of Talks
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief whip Malik Aamir Dogar said talks with the government could resume in the coming days, as the party on Wednesday dismissed reports of internal divisions over the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa chief ministership, party leadership and fears of a possible forward bloc.
A day earlier, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said a ban on the PTI was no longer necessary after the imposition of governor’s rule in K-P. The emergency and governor’s rule were declared on October 11 after negotiations failed, following a PTI long march towards Islamabad that began on October 4.
Last week, a joint session of parliament adopted two resolutions ratifying the presidential proclamations imposing emergency and governor’s rule in K-P for two months, amid opposition protests. Before that, both houses had separately approved the emergency by majority vote under Clause 1 of Article 232, despite opposition objections.
‘No differences within the parliamentary party’
Speaking exclusively to The Express Tribune, Dogar rejected reports of internal divisions, saying there were no differences within the parliamentary party. He expressed full confidence in opposition leaders Mahmood Khan Achakzai and Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, saying they had been entrusted with responsibilities by the party’s founding chairman and that party members were expected to support them.
On the possibility of changing the opposition leader, Dogar said no such decision could be taken without the founding chairman’s approval.
Addressing speculation around the office of the chief minister in K-P, he maintained that Sohail Afridi remained the province’s constitutional and lawful chief minister and continued to hold the office with the confidence of the founding chairman.
“No one else can become chief minister without the founding chairman’s consent,” he said, warning that any attempt to replace Afridi without approval would amount to stabbing the party in the back. He insisted that Afridi would remain the chief minister, while alleging that certain elements were seeking to deepen divisions within the party.
Criticising the prevailing political climate, the PTI chief whip said, “Fascism is at its peak,” adding that PTI was facing “unprecedented repression”. He claimed that more than 10 of the party’s MNAs were in jail. He further underscored that PTI believed in dialogue and expressed hope that negotiations with the government would resume in the coming days.
Audio controversy adds to tensions
The reported emergence of an audio recording allegedly featuring former K-P chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur criticising PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja added another dimension to the unfolding controversy. In the recording, Gandapur is said to have blamed Raja’s “mismanagement and flawed planning” for the provincial government’s dismissal and the party’s current predicament. The authenticity of the recording could not be independently verified by The Express Tribune.
Separately, in a social media post, Gandapur lambasted Raja for his post on X, calling it “extremely regrettable, irresponsible, and damaging to the internal unity of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf”.
Earlier in the day, Raja had warned that PTI’s internal unity was being targeted by undemocratic decision-makers, claiming a narrative was being spread that 68 K-P Assembly members would announce the provincial president and the next chief minister candidate without Imran Khan’s permission, and that the group had cut off contact with Afridi’s team during the crisis. He urged workers not to believe conspiracy narratives until an investigation was complete, and clarified that Junaid Akbar remained the party’s K-P president, appointed by Imran Khan, with Ali Asghar Khan as acting president.
Gandapur demanded evidence for the claims, asking Raja to name the accused members and explain the basis of the allegation that a group had paved the way for emergency rule.
Gohar says party remains united
Amid the exchange of statements, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan told The Express Tribune by telephone that he had directed party leaders to stop issuing statements against one another. He said he had spoken to Gandapur, Sheikh Waqas Akram, Ali Asghar Khan and Raja, adding that the party remained united.
Gohar maintained that PTI’s members of the provincial assembly were united and had neither violated party policy nor intended to do so in the future. Reiterating the party’s position on the provincial leadership, Gohar said Afridi “was, is and will remain” the chief minister of K-P.
Where this fits in the week’s events
Dogar’s signal on talks lands in a fast-moving week. Tarar’s remark that a ban on the PTI may no longer be needed after governor’s rule — which followed the Senate’s endorsement of the emergency resolution — opened the door to a political settlement; Fazlur Rehman has rejected the governor’s rule while alleging a minerals motive; and the Peshawar High Court has stayed the arrest of the KP Assembly deputy speaker and ordered his residence de-sealed.
Whether Wednesday’s unity messaging translates into a return to the negotiating table will be the test of the coming days. The Express Tribune reported Dogar’s remarks on Wednesday evening.
