PTI infighting escalates over Marwat's statements

ISLAMABAD:

Tensions brewed within the ranks of the PTI as members expressed dismay over what they alleged were damaging remarks made by fellow party colleague Sher Afzal Marwat.

The matter came to a head during a heated exchange at the party's core committee meeting on Monday.

Sources privy to the meeting revealed a sharp exchange of words between PTI members Sher Afzal Marwat and Niazullah Niazi. Marwat found himself at the receiving end of criticism from several core committee members, with Firdous Shamim Naqvi going as far as suggesting that Marwat seemed to need constant supervision with a "teacher" to guide him at all times and curb his outspoken tendencies.
"He is attacking his own people," Naqvi expressed concerns.

Marwat, on the other hand, lamented what he alleged was a smear campaign against him, accusing party members of remaining silent in the face of adversity. "I have led PTI, and PTI's own members are talking against me," Marwat voiced his frustrations.

However, core committee members denounced Marwat's deviation from the party's established narrative. They asserted that it took considerable effort to shape the party's message over months, only for Marwat to undermine it swiftly.

Amid the escalating verbal confrontation, party leaders such as Ali Mohammad Khan, Naeem Panjutha, and Barrister Gohar intervened to defuse tensions.

The escalating tensions unfolded against the backdrop of a series of contentious statements given by Marwat which provided fodder for speculations, especially from rivals, that there was a lack of consensus in the party.

Recently, controversy involving Marwat and Ali Muhammad Khan erupted, who pointed fingers at their own party's social media team for allegedly launching a smear campaign against former cricket captain Shahid Afridi.

The controversy erupted when an old video of Afridi circulated on social media platforms, wherein he addressed the no-confidence motion against then-prime minister Imran Khan, his pre-election pledges, and the performance of his government.

Marwat, in response, blamed PTI's social media team for propagating negative narratives against Afridi, urging them to highlight his positive attributes instead. PTI's social media activist Azhar Mashwani swiftly reacted to Marwat's statements, urging him to retract his remarks.

‘Cracks within PTI’

Meanwhile, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar there was a sheer power struggle within the ranks of PTI that may lead to its disintegration or creation of a forward block.

Addressing a news conference, he said that top PTI leaders like Gohar Khan and Sher Afzal Khan were taking contradictory stances on different issues. He regretted the "childish attitude" put up by the PTI which was a national party.

Tarar advised the PTI leaders to shun its internal politics and play its due role in strengthening the economy.

Lambasting the PTI, he said sometimes they wrote a letter to the IMF but sometimes asked the European Union to investigate the election process in Pakistan. If they had any complaint, they should knock on the door of the Election Commission of Pakistan or Election Tribunals, he said.

He said once they were accusing the US of toppling the PTI government, now they had hired lobbying firms in the United States. The minister said that American diplomat Donald Lu had called the PTI founder a "certified liar".

He urged the PTI leaders to join mainstream politics and contribute to the nation-building process. "We need to create unity and consensus at the national political scenario," he said.