Last Updated on November 1, 2026 by YeJahan
MUSAB BIN SAEED
ISLAMABAD (Nov 1): Federal Minister for Defence Khawaja Asif launched a scathing critique against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) following a formal decree issued by the party’s central leadership that barred its lawmakers from initiating any discussions to replace the incumbent Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister, Sohail Afridi.
Taking to the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Asif sharply questioned the internal democratic credentials of the opposition party, implying that elected provincial legislators were being stripped of their constitutional authority by instructions originating from Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail, where PTI founding chairman Imran Khan remains incarcerated.
“Are the elected members of the provincial assembly mere slaves, and all decisions are made in Adiala?” Asif remarked. “Grand deceptions have been committed against our beloved homeland in the name of democracy. But this one is a masterpiece.”
"بانی کے سوا کسی کو اختیار نہیں"۔ یہ کیسی جمہوریت ہے جہاں صوبائی اسمبلی کے منتخب ارکان صرف غلام ہیں اور تمام فیصلے اڈیالہ میں ہوتے ہیں۔ جمہوریت کے نام پہ وطنُ عزیز کے ساتھ بڑے دھوکے ھوئے ھیں۔ مگر یہ ماسٹر پیس شاہکار ھے۔۔ اقبال نے کیا خوب کہا تھا:- دیوِ استبداد جمہوری قبا میں پائے کوب تو سمجھتا ہے یہ آزادی کی ہے نیلم پری
— Khawaja M. Asif (@KhawajaMAsif) November 1, 2026
To underscore his criticism, the Defence Minister invoked classical Urdu poetry, quoting a famous couplet by Allama Muhammad Iqbal to describe what he characterized as authoritarianism masking itself as democratic governance:
دیوِ استبداد جمہوری قبا میں پائے کوب
تو سمجھتا ہے یہ آزادی کی ہے نیلم پری
(The demon of tyranny dances in democratic garb, Yet you mistake it for the fairy of freedom.)
The federal minister’s public rebuke was triggered by an official notification issued by the PTI Central Secretariat, dated October 29, 2026, and signed by party Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan. The circular was aimed at quelling internal party rifts and speculation regarding a potential leadership change in Peshawar.
The notification explicitly stated that Chief Minister Sohail Afridi continues to command the absolute support and confidence of Imran Khan and will remain the party’s chief executive in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Furthermore, the decree issued a strict directive to all PTI members, organizational office-bearers, parliamentarians, and party functionaries, commanding them “not to convene or participate in any meeting, introduce any agenda, initiate or entertain any proposal, or encourage or engage in any discussion concerning the nomination, replacement or consideration for the office of Chief Minister.”
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The party’s top leadership categorically emphasized that the authority to appoint or alter decisions regarding the top provincial slot rests solely with Imran Khan. “It is categorically reiterated that no one other than the Founding Chairman, Mr. Imran Khan, has the authority to nominate an alternative candidate or alter this decision in any manner whatsoever,” the notification read, adding that his directives are final and binding across all party tiers.
The public sparring highlights the widening political polarization between the ruling coalition and the PTI, particularly over how the opposition party manages its governance in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa while its primary leader remains under detention.
Copyright YeJahan News Network, 2026
