PESHAWAR: A group of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s lawmakers from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has expressed concerns over a “lack of efforts” by the leadership for the release of the party’s incarcerated founder, Imran Khan, and governance issues in the province and demanded a comprehensive and organised action plan for the purpose.

The legislators, who are believed to be disgruntled for not being included in the provincial cabinet during the recent expansion, wrote a letter to PTI chairman Barrister Gohar Ali following their meeting in Peshawar.

The letter said participants of the Peshawar meeting complained that the situation regarding the movement for Imran Khan’s release and his health was causing “anxiety among workers, supporters and patriotic citizens”.

“Workers feel the release movement has deviated from its core direction and become limited merely to health and treatment matters. The ongoing movement for the leader’s release appears largely limited to formal statements, restricted protest activities and symbolic measures. A new strategy should be formulated to make the movement effective, organised and result-oriented,” read the letter.

Write letter to party chairman; raise governance concerns; demand comprehensive and organised action plan

The MPAs warned if the issues were not addressed promptly and effectively, the party could suffer politically.

They also expressed reservations regarding “interference by irrelevant individuals in the provincial government’s affairs, deviation from merit, unfair distribution of resources and lack of proper consultation with relevant MPAs in decisions about their constituencies’ powers and development resources”.

The participants stressed that all governmental affairs must be conducted in accordance with transparency, merit, institutional discipline and consultation with elected public representatives, according to the letter.

It noted that during the parliamentary party meeting, the lawmakers conducted detailed deliberations on the party’s overall political situation, the release of Imran Khan, issues faced by party workers and leaders, the effectiveness of the ongoing Imran release movement and various governance issues in the province.

They complained that certain social media platforms and media outlets were creating a false impression by associating assembly members with different groups or individuals.

“The meeting clarified that all assembly members are committed to the ideology, manifesto and vision of PTI founder Imran Khan and are neither working on the agenda of any group, faction or personality nor do they associate themselves with any specific group,” said the letter.

Participants called for a “positive, comprehensive, effective and result-oriented strategy” for Imran’s release.

According to them, alongside Imran Khan, hundreds of party leaders and workers are also enduring the hardships of imprisonment, so a comprehensive and organised action plan should be formulated for their release, legal assistance, the welfare of their families and other necessary matters.

The letter said the meeting recommended a coordinated, active and effective legal strategy to pursue the cases of Imran, party leaders and workers so that workers and the people received a clear message of the party’s seriousness and determination.

They emphasised that since the PTI’s government was established in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, it was essential that Imran’s vision, merit, transparency and good governance should be implemented in practice across all sectors.

A comprehensive strategy should be formulated considering the opinions and concerns of assembly members to effectively prevent interference by irrelevant elements and enable the provincial government to set an example of public service and excellent governance, according to the letter.

The lawmakers also sent copies of the letter to the PTI’s central secretary general and central information secretary.

One of the disgruntled MPAs told Dawn that around 20 lawmakers were apparently unhappy for not getting cabinet slots.

He added that those legislators didn’t attend the parliamentary party meeting called by Chief Minister Sohail Afridi to show that there’s no rift in the party.

The MPA said that on Tuesday, all disgruntled MPAs went to Rawalpindi together to stage a protest outside the Adiala Jail where Imran Khan was kept.

He said PTI chairman Barrister Gohar Ali hadn’t responded to the letter yet as he was busy with the party’s election campaign in Gilgit-Baltistan.

Published in Dawn, June 3rd, 2026