PTI has said MNA Junaid Akbar remains president of the party’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chapter, even as his whereabouts stay unknown after he was taken into preventive custody. A notification signed by PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan on Saturday stated that the provincial organisation will continue to function under Akbar’s presidency. Senator Noorul Haq Qadri, the chapter’s senior vice president, will preside over provincial cabinet meetings while Akbar is away.
Custody, governor’s rule and a contested nomination
Akbar was taken into preventive custody with Sohail Afridi and others after the federal government imposed governor’s rule and an emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Oct 11. His location has not been confirmed since then. Amid that absence, there were reports that more than 50 lawmakers from the KP Assembly met on Oct 14 to endorse former chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur as acting provincial president in place of Akbar.
The Saturday notification pushed back against any change at the top. It said Qadri “shall preside over all meetings of PTI provincial cabinet in absence of Junaid Akbar and shall act according to the Constitution of PTI.” Qadri previously served as federal religious affairs minister in the PTI government.
Who runs day-to-day PTI work in KP
PTI KP Secretary General Ali Asghar Khan is to chair meetings if Qadri is also absent, and may call and chair meetings of other tiers of the provincial organisation. The notification said Khan is responsible for administration, coordination and supervision across tiers and wings so that party policies and decisions are carried out. It also made clear that, subject to those arrangements, no changes shall be made in the provincial cabinet or organisational structure of PTI KP until further order.
Public spat between Gandapur and Raja
The move comes amid a public argument on social media between Gandapur and PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja. Raja had criticised what he called a “conspiratorial narrative” about party MPAs naming a new provincial president without permission from jailed leader Imran Khan or the party’s political committee. On Wednesday he cited a “narrative” that 68 PTI dissidents were planning to name a new provincial president, and accused them of cutting off contact with Afridi and his team in the final days of a protest march, which he said helped open the way for emergency and governor’s rule in KP. “Those spreading doubts — the snakes and the serpents — will be defeated,” Raja wrote.
Gandapur replied in a lengthy post, criticising the secretary general for “levelling vague accusations” against party colleagues and questioning his statements. He also answered through further posts and audio messages, objecting to Raja’s tone.
Timeline: what has happened so far
- Oct 11: Federal government imposes governor’s rule and emergency in KP; Junaid Akbar, Sohail Afridi and others are taken into preventive custody; Akbar’s whereabouts remain unknown.
- Oct 14: Reports say more than 50 KP Assembly lawmakers meet to endorse Ali Amin Gandapur as acting provincial president in place of Akbar.
- Wednesday (before Saturday’s notice): Salman Akram Raja posts about a narrative of 68 dissidents planning a new provincial president and criticises colleagues over the protest march’s final days.
- Saturday: Gohar Ali Khan’s notification confirms Akbar remains PTI KP president; Qadri to preside in his absence; Ali Asghar Khan next in line for chairing; no cabinet or structural changes until further order.
Aasan alfaaz mein
PTI ne kaha hai ke Junaid Akbar ab bhi Khyber Pakhtunkhwa mein party ke president hain. Un ki non-hazri mein Senator Qadri meetings chalayenge. Party ne wazeh kiya ke abhi cabinet ya organisation mein koi tabdeeli nahi hogi. Is se KP ki PTI leadership ka mamla thoda clear hota hai, lekin Akbar ki custody aur party ke andar jhagda ab bhi jari hai.
