Islamabad, Pakistan: There is no iota of doubt left that the structure of a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) consists of political upstarts as it is a group of self-interested people in which everyone seems to be striving for their own interests. Now this house is crumbling as everybody is working for his/her own interests by following the ‘family traditions’.
It will be clear that the majority of them are those who, after trying their luck in other parties, are now trying to make their political future in PTI. Apart from this, Gohar Khan and Latif Khoosa found no appropriate place for them in the PPP and lost trust in him although he was PPP’s Governor in Punjab in the past. The interesting factor is that in PTI, the same people who came from other parties are occupying the top positions, while the original workers of that party have gone to the background due to the lack of rationality of the PTI and hence the factionalism is ruling in the PTI now that now become a serious problem. PTI circles confirm that the party is suffering from division although leadership claims that there is no division in the party.
There is a saying in the English language that “it runs in the family” so the PTI is the best example of this phrase. Its founding chairman Imran Khan is best known for ditching and betraying his friends so his fellow leaders are doing the same with each other. Khan’s lifestyle is also known for creating chaos and malice for his friends and the same is seen within his party.
Many of PTI’s old guards in their background discussions express that they have distanced themselves from the party due to perceivable attempts of Khan’s to destroy Pakistan and his alignment with international anti-Islam and anti-Pakistan lobbies such as pro-Israel Neo-conservatives who have been funding his party as well as his family. Moreover, old guards claim that people like Asad Qaiser, Umar Ayub, Sher Afzal Marwat, Gohar Khan, and others are playing their own games and nobody is honest with anybody within the party. Now when the issues of factionalism and grouping in a PTI are getting out of hand, Imran Khan is trying to end this division, but perhaps it is too late now.
Differences among members came to the fore when Sher Afzal Marwat’s name was floated for the Chairmanship of the Public Accounts Committee, which was opposed even from within the party and then Sher Afzal Marwat was removed from both the core committee and the political committee of the party. He announced his decision in a talk with the media thereafter that he would not participate in the activities of the party, after which Sher Afzal Marwat left for London and held a party rally there with other Pakistanis. Regarding political activities in Pakistan, he said “I will go when Imran Khan will call, but the current leadership is not allowing me to meet.” On the other hand, Rauf Hasan, the spokesperson of PTI said that there is a disturbance in the party, but the reports of division are baseless and claimed that a systematic campaign against the party has started through social media. Interestingly when Hasan is claiming that there is no division in the party, Shandana Gulzar is claiming that she is being denied meetings with Imran Khan by party leadership. Meanwhile, there is news that some lawyers are going to form a separate forward block along with Sher Afzal Marwat and Shandana Gulzar.
