Vawda claims 'PTI is compromised'

KARACHI: As the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf faces reported infighting over multiple issues, Senator Faisal Vawda on Tuesday claimed that the entirety of PTI is “compromised”, adding that the former ruling party has lost its popularity.

“PTI’s popularity graph has fallen...PTI members walk out of the House under compromise during crucial amendments,” the senator said while speaking on Geo News programme ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath’. The PTI has reportedly been facing “internal rifts”, with members of its senior leadership developing differences on various matters after the incarceration of the party founder in 2023.

Recently party stalwart Sher Afzal Marwat was expelled, which he blamed on “de-facto” Secretary General Salman Akram Raja. Before Marwat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur was removed as the head of the party’s provincial chapter and replaced by Junaid Akbar.

Separately, ex-PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry and party ticket-holder Shoaib Shaheen had a scuffle over a minor argument outside Adiala jail, causing the latter to fall to the ground and injuring his arm.

Speaking during the programme, Vawda said Marwat would not be allowed to remain in PTI. “He’s [Marwat] a sincere man and practices independent politics,” he added. In response to a question, he said he doesn’t belong to any party, adding that he would “never rejoin the PTI”. The former PTI federal minister also accused the party’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government of being involved in corruption, saying that the chats of Aleema Khan, Imran Khan’s sister, have exposed the “ongoing corruption in the province”.

He further added that the PTI leaders “run their houses by embezzling party funds”, adding that KP was ahead of other provinces in corruption. The senator claimed that a case of “assets beyond means” could be registered against KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur.

Responding to another question, Vawda rejected the notion of a grand opposition alliance being formed after Eid-ul-Fitr, saying that no alliance would be made and no sit-in would be organised. “The establishment does not need PTI, nor does it want anything from the party,” he clarified.