PESHAWAR: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has decided to take firm disciplinary action against dissenting members ahead of the upcoming Senate elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).
According to party sources, any member who defies PTI’s official decisions regarding Senate nominations will face immediate consequences, including expulsion. Barrister Gohar Ali confirmed the development while speaking to private media channel, stating that dissenting candidates were summoned for a meeting on Friday but failed to attend.
“The Chief Minister and I waited, but they did not show up,” Gohar said, adding that the matter has now been referred to PTI’s political committee. The committee has directed the dissenters to withdraw their nominations by Saturday noon or face disciplinary action under the party’s internal rules.
The crisis stems from internal discontent over Senate ticket allocations. Long-time PTI workers and leaders who were denied tickets voiced strong protest, accusing the leadership of sidelining them. Among the dissatisfied leaders are Irfan Saleem, Ayesha Bano, Waqas Orakzai, and Khurram Zeeshan.
On Friday, the PTI political committee unanimously approved holding unopposed Senate elections in KP. A statement issued after the meeting confirmed that disgruntled covering candidates have agreed to withdraw their nominations following negotiations with party leadership.
The decision for unopposed polls aims to avoid allegations of vote trading and maintain party discipline. After consultation with the KP parliamentary party, the PTI founder endorsed the move, granting full authority to the provincial leadership.
Finalised PTI candidates include Murad Saeed, Faisal Javed, Mirza Khan Afridi, and Pir Noorul Haq Qadri for general seats; Rubina Naz for the women’s reserved seat; Azam Swati for the technocrat seat; and Mishal Yousafzai for the seat vacated by Sania Nishtar.
With this consensus, PTI is expected to secure six out of 11 Senate seats in KP. The opposition, comprising PPP, JUI-F, and PML-N, is projected to take the remaining five seats.
Senate elections in KP are scheduled for July 21 and will fill seven general seats, two women’s reserved seats, and two ulema seats.
