Over 25 PTI Lawmakers Skip KP Parliamentary Meeting

Internal fault lines within Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) became visible on Sunday when more than 25 members of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa parliamentary party failed to show up for a crucial meeting held at the Chief Minister’s House in Peshawar.

Of the 92-member parliamentary group, only 75 lawmakers attended the session, which was chaired by KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi. Party sources confirmed that prominent figures including former chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur, Fazal Elahi, and Nek Muhammad were among those absent. Most absentees cited foreign travel or prior engagements, though sources indicated that a number of lawmakers were also privately dissatisfied with CM Afridi after being excluded from the provincial cabinet.

Despite the significant absenteeism, Afridi struck a defiant tone at the meeting, framing the turnout as a testament to the party’s solidarity in the face of criticism.

“I welcome all members of the assembly who attended today’s meeting. No one can break us, nor can anyone force us to retreat from Imran Khan’s ideology,” he declared.

Afridi maintained that rival forces had attempted to drive a wedge within PTI but had ultimately failed. He said the meeting’s agenda covered two key issues: an update on PTI founder Imran Khan’s health condition and deliberations on the upcoming fiscal year’s budget.

The chief minister voiced serious concern about restrictions preventing PTI leaders from visiting Khan, and revealed that the former prime minister had reportedly suffered an 85% loss of vision in one eye. Afridi demanded that Khan be permitted to receive medical treatment from physicians and at a hospital of his own choosing, with his family present.

He further accused the federal government of systematically depriving Khyber Pakhtunkhwa of its constitutional entitlements, alleging that gas and wheat supplies to the province had been cut off. He claimed the centre owed the province over Rs4.5 trillion and said PTI was coordinating with other political parties to reclaim the province’s rights. He pledged that the next budget would be people-centric and aligned with Khan’s development vision.

KP Information Minister Shafi Jan, meanwhile, firmly dismissed reports of a forward bloc forming within the party, insisting that all legislators remained firmly behind the chief minister.

“There is no forward bloc in PTI. Whoever moves away from the PTI founder’s line will end their political future,” he warned.