MUZAFFARABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) on Monday attributed prolonged political instability in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) to “conspiratorial politics, ideologically hollow governments and systematic disregard for the public mandate.”

It claimed that its elected government had been ousted through internal and external machinations.

“After assuming power in 2021, the PTI introduced welfare-oriented initiatives and structured planning and development programmes in line with the vision of the party’s founder, Imran Khan, but those efforts were deliberately derailed,” said PTI AJK’s information secretary, Syed Azhar Gillani, at a press conference here, adding that since the removal of the PTI government in April 2023, the territory had failed to achieve political stability.

Mr Gillani, flanked by fellow party leaders Mir Attiqur Rehman and Khawaja Shafique, maintained that attempts were made to weaken his party by engineering defections of more than 25 elected PTI lawmakers.

“However, our party managed to reorganise itself and, within three years, re-emerged as a strong, organised and politically active force in AJK,” he claimed.

Paying tribute to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, Mr Gillani described him as a loyal and committed worker of Imran Khan.

Despite “discriminatory treatment by the Punjab government,” Mr Afridi’s Karachi rally reflected continued public support for Imran Khan’s ideology, he said, adding that political parties which had ruled the country for two decades had failed to mobilise comparable public gatherings even with advance notice.

Drawing a comparison between PTI’s tenure and the current federal government, he claimed that Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves had increased from $14 billion to $30 billion under Imran Khan, while exports had risen from $21 billion to $41 billion. In contrast, he alleged, the incumbent rulers had burdened the country with nearly $100 billion in additional debt within a few years.

He said the PTI was ready for an open debate with the present government on governance performance, comparing it with Imran Khan’s three-year tenure. He also claimed that no drone strikes took place during Imran Khan’s government, whereas previous governments had witnessed hundreds of such attacks, resulting in the deaths of thousands of civilians.

Commenting on AJK’s political landscape, Mr Gillani described the PML-N and PPP as “interest-driven groups devoid of ideology,” alleging that they functioned as franchises serving powerful patrons and frequently altered their political positions to remain in power. He said that although voters had endorsed ideology in the last elections, their mandate was later violated.

Looking ahead to the next polls, he said the PTI would neither rely on “electables” nor engage in political horse-trading. Instead, ideologically committed party workers would be fielded. Acknowledging past political missteps, he said the party intended to nominate only principled, credible and people-centric candidates.

Responding to a question, Mr Gillani said the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) had raised genuine public issues and was advocating people’s rights, which was why the PTI fully supported the committee’s stance. He added that Imran Khan, despite being incarcerated, had directed party workers to continue advocating for public rights.

He said the PTI would focus on raising political awareness among the youth, exposing hypocrisy in politics and placing direct questions before the public regarding the past four years’ performance in health, education, employment and opportunities for women and youth.

In response to another question, he said the PTI would contest the upcoming elections “with full force” and expressed confidence that the people of AJK would once again repose their trust in Imran Khan’s political ideology.

Published in Dawn, January 13th, 2026