PTI leader Junaid Akbar warns of launching nationwide campaign against PML-N alliance

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Islamabad: According to The Express Tribune, President Junaid Akbar of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) chapter has threatened to launch a nationwide campaign against the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz-led (PML-N) coalition due to the government’s lack of commitment to resolving political tensions through dialogue.

Akbar said that the opposition’s readiness to negotiate with the administration was seen as a show of weakness in an interview with a local TV news station. His comments followed PTI’s absence from Tuesday’s fourth session of negotiations with the coalition government headed by the PML-N, which essentially put a halt to the process.

Due to the absence of PTI MPs, the government’s negotiations committee meeting on Tuesday was postponed. Ayaz Sadiq, the speaker of the Pakistan National Assembly, said that the committee will continue to function in spite of the low level of participation. On December 23, 2024, PTI and the government began their first round of negotiations. The two parties have met three times since the negotiations began in December.

In an effort to ease political tensions in Pakistan, negotiations between the PTI and the PML-N-led government began in December of last year. The government was accused by the PTI of failing to establish judicial commissions to conduct investigations into the May 9, 2023, demonstrations and the November 26, 2024, crackdown on PTI protesters in Islamabad, which caused the discussions to stop.

Although the present course suggests an impasse, Akbar said that PTI wants to make the conversations work. His response to the question of whether PTI will now look for answers on the streets was, “Yes, definitely.” According to The Express Tribune, he planned a number of protest activities, including a demonstration at Islamabad’s D-Chowk and district-level demonstrations against suspected election tampering on February 8.

Notably, on February 8 of last year, Pakistan conducted its 12th national general election, which was marred by accusations of tampering and the suspension of internet and cellphone service. Junaid Akbar said in his speech that PTI will not negotiate while protesting in the streets.

He said that the “homoeopathic leadership” of the Imran Khan-founded PTI will be replaced by hardliners after a restructuring planned for May, signaling major upheavals inside the party. According to The Express Tribune, Akbar said that the PTI intends to restructure the provincial government, with two more members anticipated to join the team of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur.

He said that the federal government was attempting to drive party members to defect and sow discord within the PTI. Those who left the PTI, he said, had first joined in response to orders from outside sources. The head of the PTI voiced hope that Imran Khan will be freed this year.