Imran only wants ‘revolution against institutions’: Pervez Khattak

Published
0

Pervez Khattak — who heads a breakaway faction of the PTI after parting ways with former prime minister Imran Khan’s party — claimed on Saturday that the incarcerated ex-PM only wanted to “bring about a revolution against institutions”.

The PTI-Parliamentarians (PTI-P) founder made this claim while hurling a volley of allegations against the PTI chief during a media talk in Peshawar.

Imran lacked a strategy to address the challenges confronting the nation when he was in power and “used to tell us to lie to such an extent so that it appears to be the truth,” Khattak alleged.

The PTI terminated the basic party membership of Khattak in July after he failed to respond to a show-cause notice for “inciting” members to leave the party.

The termination letter shared by the party had said Khattak failed to provide a “satisfactory reply within the given stipulated time” to the notice issued to him regarding “contacting party members and inciting them to leave the party”.

This was around two weeks after he stepped down as the president of the PTI’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chapter while the party faced a crackdown following the May 9 episode — during which protests were staged and civil and military installations were attacked in several cities in the wake of Imran arrest in a graft case.

Speaking to journalists today, he said, “Whatever happened on May 9 was not right”.

He also appreciated former army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa, whom Imran has blamed for a “conspiracy” that resulted in his ouster from the top office through a no-confidence vote.

Ex-army chief Bajwa “supported us a great deal”, Khattak said of the time when he was in the PTI. “But in the end, he too gave up and said he cannot do more.”

He claimed that former spymaster Lieutenant-General (retd) Faiz Hameed and Bajwa had “created an environment for elections, but Imran did not agree”.

The PTI-P leader did not elaborate on the context of these remarks.

Moreover, he continued, “I was the one who had brought around 60 per cent of electables in the party (PTI).”

Khattak further said the PTI could be proven a “criminal party” and “face a ban”.

He pointed out that four cases — Toshakhana, cipher, Al-Qadir Trust case and May 9 riots — could present challenges for the PTI chief.

Opinion

Editorial

Genuine governance
10 Aug, 2026

Genuine governance

ON the surface, the Punjab cabinet’s decision to allocate funds for local government elections is a welcome step...
Failed by the state
10 Aug, 2026

Failed by the state

THE 1,914 cases of child abuse across Pakistan in the first six months of 2026 should spark outrage. The figure ...
HIV crisis
10 Aug, 2026

HIV crisis

PAKISTAN’s presence among countries with the fastest-growing HIV epidemic in Asia is a matter of shame. Globally,...
Makkah agreement
Updated 09 Aug, 2026

Makkah agreement

IN the midst of a gruelling war between the US and Iran — currently at a stalemate — the signing of the Makkah...
Conflicting priorities
09 Aug, 2026

Conflicting priorities

THERE is a reasonable argument that the democratic process must go on regardless of prevailing conditions; that...
FIFA controversy
09 Aug, 2026

FIFA controversy

FIFA PRESIDENT Gianni Infantino is at the centre of a storm of his own making. Even after a crisis meeting in...