ISLAMABAD: Defence Minister Khawaja Asif launched a blistering attack on the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Friday, describing it not as a political party but as a “cult” where every leader except the founder is subjected to abuse.
In a pointed commentary on a social media post by Sahibzada Hamid Raza, the Defence Minister remarked that while he shared a long-standing political friendship with Raza’s late father, the dynamics within PTI were fundamentally different. “PTI is not a political party, it is a cult. There is no concept of political thought and political friendship here,” Asif asserted, highlighting what he described as deep internal fissures within the opposition party.
The Minister claimed that internal discord has splintered the party into half a dozen groups. He alleged that party workers, leaders, and even the interests of the country are being sacrificed for the personal interests of the party’s founder. “Every leader except the founder has been abused and will continue to be abused. Workers, leaders and the interests of the country are all sacrificed on the altar of the founder’s interests,” he wrote.
Khawaja Asif went on to detail what he perceives as a fierce power struggle within PTI’s ranks. He pointed to a conflict of interest between the founder’s sister and the party leadership, and accused Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur of launching a “Liberation Force” merely to save his position. “Where there is a fierce battle of interests between the founder’s sister and the party leadership, the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is assuring loyalty by launching the Liberation Force to save his Chief Ministership,” Asif stated.
The Defence Minister also took aim at a group of lawyers affiliated with the party, suggesting their political survival depends entirely on the party founder. He implied that their visible campaigns are motivated by self-interest rather than principle. “A group of lawyers whose entire political existence is due to the knowledge and support of the founder are coming on camera to create market value,” he remarked.
