THE back-and-forth continues within the PTI. To resign or not to resign. To contest or not to contest by-elections. A majority decision was taken by the party’s political committee on Monday that it would contest polls for seats that have fallen vacant due to the disqualification of its lawmakers.
However, this had immediately invited the ire of Imran Khan’s sisters, who saw it as a betrayal of the PTI founder’s express instructions not to. But on Tuesday, when the decision was placed before Mr Khan for ratification, he merely returned it for further consideration.
The PTI’s political committee was directed to hold another debate on Tuesday evening on participation in by-elections. There was also the matter of the party’s secretary general Salman Akram Raja’s surprise resignation, the reason for which was never fully given. That, too, was presented to Mr Khan, but he asked Mr Raja to continue as usual.
The political committee had not taken another decision when these words were being written, but that does not matter as Mr Khan still has the final say on the matter. One thing that Mr Khan seems particularly keen on is to see the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party chief, Mahmood Achakzai, as the National Assembly opposition leader. He was reported to have underlined this again on Tuesday. Apparently, some within the PTI leadership have had reservations regarding this choice.
It is speculated that this may have had something to do with Mr Achakzai having been traditionally antagonistic to powerful quarters. The only consolation offered by Mr Khan to this camp is that the recently disqualified PTI leaders of the opposition will continue to take all measures to challenge their disqualification; failing which, Mr Achakzai will be nominated for the role. Perhaps Mr Khan wants the establishment, too, to choose from these options.
A senior journalist suggested in a recent column that Mr Khan should take one of his famous U-turns and reach a settlement with his opponents. Yet, even though it seems that his party is on crutches, he is adamant about having his way. It is dizzying how many representatives the party appears to have accumulated, each of whom claims to be the ‘true spokesperson’ for Mr Khan.
On top of that, there are many factions within the party, and their ideas are often diametrically opposed to each other. It is amidst this chaos that the PTI still, somehow, manages to survive. It is a wonder that it does; a bigger wonder still that it remains unwilling to change despite all the trouble such chaos causes.
Can sheer willpower bring Mr Khan and his party out of their present predicament, though? It seems unlikely. And while unlikely does not mean impossible, it is certainly a very difficult path to tread.
Published in Dawn, August 27th, 2025
