The PTI is no stranger to internal divisions – not when the party was intact pre-May 9 and not even now post-dismantling and after the February 8 elections. On Thursday, senior PTI leader Omar Ayub Khan announced that he had stepped down as secretary-general of the party “to focus on my role as Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly of Pakistan”. Ayub said he had tendered his resignation on June 22, 2024, via a letter addressed to jailed PTI founder Imran Khan and party Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan. This development came amidst reports that cracks had emerged in the party as PTI-backed 27 Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) lawmakers deliberated on the option of resignation from the National Assembly in protest against the party’s top leadership. According to media reports, 21 of the 27 PTI members had mulled over forming a forward bloc over the top leadership’s inability to secure the release of Imran Khan from jail. However, Shandana Gulzar – who was reportedly said to be part of those mulling forming a forward bloc – has denied this news and called it fake. On the other hand, disgruntled and sidelined PTI leader Sher Afzal Marwat has demanded that Shibli Faraz resign, saying that the party will only then be freed from the “qabza mafia”. Marwat was first nominated by the PTI leadership for the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairmanship but after a whole lot of drama spanning some weeks, his name was retracted by the party and replaced with Sheikh Waqas Akram’s name instead. According to media reports, these latest developments are a result of the ongoing tug-of-war inside the PTI. Per party insiders, the power politics within the PTI threatens its unity inside and outside parliament. “Those left out or not consulted for the PTI’s parliamentary party posts, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa cabinet and the composition of the core and political committees have been mainly blamed for this situation.” Observers say that all this PTI infighting and bickering is like a high-school drama unfolding before our eyes in real time.
Interestingly, the tug-of-war is not just between those who are still with the PTI but also those who left the PTI following the May 9 incident and now want to make a comeback in the former ruling party. Some former members say they never left the party or that it was only done under duress. But the PTI’s current leadership has rubbished reports that such former members will be allowed entry back into the party by Imran Khan. From calling them ‘rats who jumped the ship’ to other derogatory names, the war of words between former and current PTI leaders has been something to behold. There are allegations by the current leadership that those trying to make a comeback are doing so at the behest of ‘others’ while some former party leaders have claimed that the current lot does not want Imran Khan to be released from jail. Then there is the PTI support base, which has been criticizing party leadership for not doing enough to get Imran released from jail.
Observers say the PTI is a phenomenon unto itself as the sort of stories that are leaked by party insiders is something rarely seen in other political parties. It’s not as though other political parties don’t have internal fissures; in fact, we are witnessing some of this within the PML-N these days but rarely have we seen the kind of groupings within one party as we see in the PTI. Most of the stories leaked to the media are from PTI insiders against one group or the other. Even the public back and forth between leaders is something other parties have rarely indulged in. Some believe it is due to Imran Khan’s style of leadership and the hold he has over his party, where he encourages this ‘divide and rule’ strategy. Others believe that it is because these leaders want to get close to Imran. Whatever the reasons, and there are many layers to it, the end result of all this infighting will only damage the PTI. The fact is that the only constant in the PTI is Imran Khan. With him in jail, the party seems more directionless than ever.