Pakistan Tehreek-E-Insaf (PTI) Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Junaid President Junaid Akbar warned about a national campaign against the ruling coalition, citing the lack of government commitment to resolve political tensions through dialogue.
Speaking to a local television news channel, Akbar said that the disposition of the opposition to negotiate was erroneously interpreted as a sign of weakness. His comments occurred after PTI jumped the fourth round of conversations with the coalition government led by the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N), led by the coalition on Tuesday, effectively staging the negotiation process.
PTI and the ruling alliance began conversations in December last year to reduce political temperature in the country. However, the dialogue process was derailed when PTI accused the government of not forming judicial commissions to investigate the protests of May 9, 2023 and the offensive against PTI’s protesters in Islamabad on November 26, 2024.
Akbar, who was recently elected president of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) without opposition, admitted that although PTI was aimed at that the negotiations work, the current trajectory suggested a dead point.
He confirmed PTI’s intention to abandon negotiations in favor of street protests. “Yes, definitely,” he said when asked if the party would now look for solutions in the streets.
He announced a series of protest plans, including manifestations at the district level on February 8 against the alleged electoral rigs and a large-scale protest in the Islamabad D-Cowk.
The PTI leader emphasized that this time, the part would not participate in negotiations during their street protests. Hinting out significant changes within PTI, revealed that “homeopathic leadership” of the party would be replaced by uncompromising after a reorganization scheduled for May.
He also announced plans to renew the provincial cabinet, and two new members are expected to join the team of Prime Minister Ali Amin Gandapur.
Akbar accused the Federal Government of trying to create divisions within PTI and coercing party members to change loyalties. “We know who is in contact with who,” he said, adding that the efforts to destabilize the party had failed.
The PTI leader also said that those who left the party had originally joined under external directives. Akbar expressed optimism about the launch of the founder of PTI Imran Khan this year.
