Junaid Khan Expresses Confusion Over PTI’s Provincial Assembly Ticket Decisions

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa President and Member of National Assembly, Junaid Khan, has expressed uncertainty regarding the decision-making process for PTI’s provincial assembly tickets in the 2024 general elections. In an interview with a private news channel, Junaid Khan was asked why prominent PTI leaders such as Atif Khan and Shahram Tarakai chose not to contest provincial assembly elections, despite their strong desire to do so.

Junaid Khan stated that he was told the decision on the candidates’ list for the elections was made solely by PTI’s founding leader, Imran Khan. However, he questioned how it was possible for one person to decide on the names of over 1,060 candidates. He further revealed that when he discussed the issue with Imran Khan, the latter claimed that he had never received any such list.

Imran Khan, according to Junaid Khan, asked for the list to be presented to him so that he could see which candidates had been recommended by whom. This conversation took place in the presence of other PTI leaders, including Umar Ayub and Sahibzada Hamid Raza. Junaid Khan expressed that they were all in the dark about how the list of candidates was finalized and who was responsible for it.

Junaid Khan also revealed that he had distanced himself from PTI’s core committee five months ago and had not participated in any party protests since then. He emphasized that while he had continued fulfilling his responsibilities as a member of the political committee, his role within the party had changed significantly over time.

Addressing another question, Junaid Khan stated that he was unaware of any reconciliation between PTI’s senior leader, Ali Amin Gandapur, and Imran Khan’s wife, Bushra Bibi. He mentioned that his last meeting with Bushra Bibi was on the night of November 25. In that meeting, Bushra Bibi had informed him that Imran Khan had instructed the party to march towards D-Chowk, and they were required to follow that directive.

Junaid Khan further clarified that there had been no personal communication between him and Ali Amin Gandapur. He explained that they had only met once, also on November 25. He said that Bushra Bibi had mentioned Ali Amin Gandapur’s connection with Barrister Gohar, who had frequently carried messages between Imran Khan and party leaders, underscoring that the party’s policy was involved, rather than any personal agenda from Barrister Gohar.

When asked about his relationship with Ali Amin Gandapur, Junaid Khan acknowledged Gandapur’s sacrifices for the party and his proximity to Imran Khan. He recalled that he had only once criticized Gandapur on Twitter but clarified that neither he nor Gandapur had ever spoken against each other after that incident. However, he admitted that their communication had been non-existent since then.

On the issue of Shakil Khan, Junaid Khan affirmed that the points he raised in his tweet were similar to those expressed by Atif Khan in his own tweet. He stated that there was no separate faction or group within the party, countering any speculation of internal divisions within PTI.