Junaid Akbar announces quitting NA seat amid growing PTI rift

PTI President – (Web Desk) – Junaid Akbar, president of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, has announced that he will give up his National Assembly seat and step away from the party’s parliamentary group. He cited ongoing frustration over being denied the opportunity to speak in the National Assembly.

In a message shared with PTI parliamentarians on WhatsApp, Akbar said he plans to meet the National Assembly speaker on Saturday and formally request a separate seat, signaling his intention to continue as an independent lawmaker.

He also confirmed the authenticity of an audio recording attributed to him. “My patience has run out,” he said, adding that he will no longer participate in the party’s parliamentary committee or sit with its members.

Akbar criticized the party’s leadership, including the parliamentary leader and chief whip, calling the system unfair. He expressed disappointment that certain members speak every day while others are left unheard. “Is there no fairness, no humanity left?” he asked, saying the party’s decency was being mistaken for weakness.

He alleged that voices raising serious issues, including questions on terrorism and the absence of Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi from the House, were deliberately sidelined. “There isn’t enough courage to speak the truth, yet the same faces appear every day,” he said, accusing his colleagues of behaving like courtiers and silencing dissent within the party.

Akbar said he had been given the floor only once since last Ramadan, including during the budget session, and believed that even his own people were preventing him from speaking because of his blunt stance.

“I am no longer part of this parliamentary party or of you people,” Akbar said, reiterating that he would engage the speaker directly and continue his political role independently.

It may be noted that the former ruling party has been witnessing rifts and divisions for a while, with the most recent one reportedly over the party’s February 8 protest plan.

The Tehreek-e-Tahaffuz-e-Ayeen-Pakistan (TTAP) had announced a countrywide shutdown strike on February 8, marking the second anniversary of the 2024 general elections, which PTI has described as “rigged”.

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Sharp differences reportedly emerged during the party’s KP parliamentary committee meeting for finalisation of the strategy.

One of those who expressed disagreements was Akbar, who expressed frustration, claiming the PTI leadership was under pressure from “appeasing” everyone, including Imran Khan’s sister Aleema Khan.