Curiouser and curiouser

In a bizarre political theatre, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur reappeared in the KP Assembly on Sunday, a day after being declared a ‘missing person’ by his own party. This came on the heels of a resolution passed for his recovery, sparking more confusion than resolution. Gandapur claimed he was safely in KP House all along – curiously evading the notice of the Rangers and Islamabad Police. Yet, the real question is whether the PTI misled the public about his alleged ‘disappearance’ or simply lost control of its narrative. While some argue he was ‘lying low’, the party’s failure to reach Gandapur led to an unwarranted frenzy, fueling speculation of a pre-arranged meeting with powerful figures. This debacle unfolds like a poorly scripted drama. What makes it even more perplexing is Gandapur’s swift debunking of the abduction claim, exposing the internal chaos and mismanagement within the party.

Gandapur’s return has done little to repair the rift between PTI’s leadership and its rank-and-file workers. As the chief minister seemingly sat out crucial moments of protest, the workers he left behind were tear-gassed, shelled, and arrested in the streets. These abandoned foot soldiers are rightly questioning why the party’s leaders, comfortably tweeting from their homes, were urging them to face the wrath of law enforcement. The message was clear: “You are on your own". This abandonment is not new and the disconnect between the leadership’s rhetoric and its actions has not gone unnoticed by even the most ardent supporters.

But what is even more troubling is the timing of all this. With the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) moot around the corner and the nation grappling with escalating security threats, the PTI’s actions are raising serious questions about its priorities. Creating disturbances in Islamabad, provoking unnecessary tensions, and making inflammatory statements just days before such a crucial event shows a lack of foresight and strategic thinking. In an environment where negotiation with the establishment is key to PTI’s survival, alienating those in power with reckless behaviour is political suicide. One could argue that PTI’s aim is to pressure the powers into a dialogue, but its erratic actions may have the opposite effect. The party’s current approach – stoking public chaos while its leaders remain in safe spaces – is not the conduct of a responsible political entity. If the party continues down this path of reckless leadership and disregard for its grassroots, it risks not only losing the trust of its own people but also its relevance in the political landscape. The point is that Gandapur’s resurfacing and the chaos surrounding it is a microcosm of a larger problem within the PTI: a party adrift, where the leadership is more concerned with political gamesmanship than the well-being of its supporters or the stability of the country. Political movements require sacrifice and strategy, but they also require responsibility – a lesson the PTI seems to have forgotten.