PTI dissent in KP assembly raises budget pressure

PESHAWAR: Internal divisions in the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf have come into the open in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa after a dissident group emerged in the provincial assembly, intensifying friction between unhappy lawmakers and figures aligned with the chief minister as the provincial budget approaches.

After Mushtaq Ahmed Ghani appeared as the face of the group, Fazal Elahi and Idris Khattak also publicly surfaced among the dissenting lawmakers. The dissidents have tied their position to a single demand: a concrete movement for the release of PTI founder Imran Khan.

Dissidents link support to protest plan

Provincial Information Minister Shafi Jan said Imran Khan had expressed reservations about dissident lawmaker Mushtaq Ahmed Ghani, adding that the matter of his place in the party would be discussed at the next meeting with the PTI founder.

Ghani rejected the minister’s remarks and said their position was clear and based on one agenda: starting an effective campaign and adopting a practical course of action for Imran Khan’s release. In response to Shafi Jan, he said "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 also denied that the group was trying to destabilise the provincial government or target any office-holder. Ghani said "We have no intention of toppling the government, threatening anyone's position, or opening any front against any individual".

Questioning the claim that Imran Khan had reservations about him, Ghani asked " If that were true, why did he trust me enough to grant me a party ticket?"

He further said that during a meeting in jail, Imran Khan had told him "Mushtaq, I want to see you in the cabinet".

Ghani said that because of the allegations being made against him, he considered it necessary to put before the public and party workers the facts surrounding what happened after that meeting with Imran Khan.

Budget warning from Fazal Elahi

Separately, MPA Fazal Elahi reiterated that the dissident camp was focused solely on securing Imran Khan’s release. He said the group would support the government if the chief minister called a workers’ convention and took an oath to announce a sit-in or protest for Khan’s freedom.

Elahi warned that without such a commitment, the group would not back the budget’s passage. He said "Otherwise, we will not support the passage of the budget," he added that any fresh protest should not end with merely "touching the wall and returning".

The dispute has sharpened as dissenting members continue to emerge one after another in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, putting added pressure on the ruling party’s internal cohesion ahead of the budget proceedings.