Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Ali Amin Gandapur, delivered yet another fiery speech at the KP Assembly last evening, threatening an assault on Islamabad and inciting his party workers with reckless rhetoric. He even declared that if shots are fired to block their way, they will respond in kind. Gandapur’s tirade included several absurd remarks, unfit to put into words, exposing the moral and intellectual decline that has come to define his party’s leadership. In that moment, he resembled less a chief executive of a province and more a street-level rabble-rouser.
He also made baseless claims about the imposition of governor’s rule in the province, using the same crass language he had previously directed at Punjab’s female Chief Minister. However, federal ministers, political leaders, and Governor KP, Faisal Karim Kundi, have categorically dismissed such speculations. The governor stated in recent interviews that the government will not provide PTI the political martyrdom it craves by imposing governor’s rule. Instead, an All-Parties Conference has been called on December 5 in Peshawar to address the province’s deteriorating security, particularly in Kurram. The federal government, he asserted, will take collective measures as the provincial government has failed miserably to maintain peace.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, meanwhile, described PTI’s repeated marches on Islamabad as nothing short of criminal behavior. Chairing a high-level meeting, he reviewed the recent unrest on November 24 and 26 and approved a task force to manage such crises in the future.
The Chief Minister’s choice of words during his speech betrayed his desperation to deflect attention from his failings. He attempted to recast his mysterious absences and political missteps as the result of federal “oppression.” However, this transparent ploy to pacify disgruntled party workers has failed. Many within PTI, including its leadership, now openly blame Gandapur and Bushra Bibi for the party’s failures.
The pressure is mounting on Gandapur, even from within his party. Allied groups, along with opposition parties like ANP and JUI, have argued against imposing governor’s rule to deny PTI the opportunity to paint itself as a victim. Insiders reveal that Gandapur and Bushra Bibi’s actions are enough to collapse the party’s provincial structure without any external intervention.
Adding to the chaos, figures like Sheikh Waqas Akram have shifted from organizing protests in Punjab to benefitting from state resources and spreading propaganda in Peshawar. Meanwhile, rumors suggest that some leaders are busy exploiting “money-making projects,” while Bushra Bibi and her loyalists run their own enterprise. Her spokesperson, Mishal Yousafzai, is tasked with marketing this venture.
The situation within CM House and various ministries has devolved into a corruption free-for-all. Instead of rallying for their leader’s release, PTI elites seem preoccupied with cashing in on the remaining spoils of power. Realizing their strategies have alienated not just the state but also their own supporters, they find themselves trapped in a dead end of their own making.