PTI Considering Resignations from Assemblies Amid Political Restrictions, Says KP Information Minister

Peshawar: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Minister Shafee Jan has said that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is considering resigning from legislative assemblies, claiming that the party is being denied political space and prevented from participating freely in political activities.

Speaking in an interview, Shafee Jan referred to recent remarks by PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and said the party is seriously deliberating the option of resignations.

He stated that PTI leaders have faced restrictions in Gilgit-Baltistan, where elections are approaching. According to him, while leaders of other political parties, including Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Nawaz Sharif, are freely leading election campaigns, PTI leaders such as Junaid Akbar Khan, Asad Qaiser, Salman Akram Raja, and Shahid Khattak have allegedly been detained or prevented from campaigning.

Shafee Jan said the party’s political committee would hold detailed discussions on the matter, adding that a growing view within PTI is that participation in the current political system serves little purpose if the party is not allowed to operate freely.

“We are considering resignations. It is still at an early stage, but a detailed meeting will be held. If there is no space for us in the system, then questions naturally arise about continuing to be part of it,” he said.

The minister noted that former National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser had expressed similar concerns a few days earlier and that Barrister Gohar’s recent statement reflects a broader discussion taking shape within the party.

Earlier, while addressing an election rally in Gilgit, Barrister Gohar alleged that preventing PTI from conducting its election campaign amounted to pre-poll rigging. He said restricting elected representatives and party leaders from entering or campaigning in the region was unconstitutional and harmful to democratic principles.

Barrister Gohar warned that if PTI’s political isolation continues, the party may consider a complete boycott of all assemblies and withdraw from the political system altogether.

“If PTI’s isolation is not ended, we will decide why we should remain part of this system. We may be compelled to leave the assemblies and even the Senate,” he said.

No final decision regarding resignations has yet been announced, and PTI’s political committee is expected to discuss the matter in the coming days.