Two KP ministers tender resignations, one is Asad Qaiser’s brother

PESHAWAR: Two PTI leaders Aqib Ullah Khan and Faisal Khan Tarakai have resigned from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa cabinet, revealed Asad Qaiser — former National Assembly speaker — on Tuesday.

Both of them were elected to the Khyber Assembly from Swabi and one of them, Aqib Ullah, is a brother of Asad Qaiser who shared their resignations through a post on X.

Aqib Ullah and Tarakai were serving in the Ali Amin Gandapur-led cabinet as irrigation and elementary and secondary education ministers respectively.

Neither of the two PTI leaders gave any reason for the extreme move but vowed to remain committed to the incarcerated party founder — Imran Khan.

PESHAWAR SHOW

The resignations came just days after the rally that PTI organised in Peshawar which failed to attract a large crowd, resulting in speculations that the party has lost public confidence in a province it has ruled since 2013.

At the same time, the PTI workers too did not hesitate expressing their anger towards Gandapur who has been losing the confidence of hardline party loyalists. However, it is not just the Khyber chief minister as the central PTI leadership has also been facing the wrath of party workers over the failure to get Imran released from jail.

Meanwhile, Asad Qaiser is leading one of the party factions in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the PTI stronghold. And the two resignations may be representing a broader mistrust and possible move against the Gandapur government.

THE TERRORISTS THAT WERE RESETTLED

But perhaps the most serious issue the PTI is facing that the military actions against the terrorists in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as the party founder and his support base is fully inclined towards for talks — a failed formula that has been tested many times in the past.

Read more: Resettling terrorists resulted in rise of terrorism: Shehbaz

Gandapur being the chief minister can’t really fully go against the state policy although his rhetoric echoes the party line. However, the incarcerated party founder and his supporters are not happy over this “performance” in this respect.