When Junaid Akbar Khan, PTI’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa president, urged workers this week to “be ready” and “expect bullets,” he aimed to project unwavering resolve. Instead, his words laid bare a party in disarray. What should have been a carefully orchestrated demonstration of strength threatens to unravel into a spectacle of chaos, exposing PTI’s deepening strategic and organizational crises.
Not long ago, the memory of last November’s “do or die” march still lingered-a campaign that treated Islamabad like a battlefield and collapsed under its weight. As second-tier leadership steps into the limelight, it can only be hoped that this time around, they will pay a little attention to the havoc caused by hasty planning, unclear objectives and a failure to prepare for contingencies.
At the heart of PTI’s turmoil is the widening gulf between factions. Senior figures like former KP minister Taimoor Jhagra now face internal investigations for alleged misconduct, a move that has only deepened divisions. Supporters loyal to Ali Amin Gandapur clash with those who remain faithful to Imran Khan’s founding vision, all the while reducing the clarion call to tempest in a teacup.
Chief Minister Gandapur, once hailed as PTI’s rising star, has become a lightning rod for criticism. Accusations that he cultivated a personal faction-rewarding allies with election tickets while sidelining veteran leaders-have sparked open recriminations, with some going to the extent of saying that his power plays are “wrecking PTI from within,” demoralizing grassroots workers and eroding confidence in the leadership. This seemingly never-ending penchant penchant for internal vendettas risks turning its crusade into a circus of personal rivalries. What began as a disciplined movement now teeters on the brink of implosion, undone by personality clashes and procedural wrangling.
The real-world consequences are stark: turnout falling short, and plans for allied support evaporating amid mutual mistrust. There’s not much PTI offers its vote bank other than a faint ray of hope fixated on just one man. How this movement would help resolve their grievances and put food in their bellies and roof on their heads is a different question altogether.
If PTI is to salvage its credibility, it must first heal its internal wounds. Transparent investigations, inclusive decision-making and a renewed commitment to governance over gatekeeping are non-negotiable. Without these steps, the next call to action will ring hollow and PTI will find itself undone not by its opponents, but by the fractures within. *