PTI bars members from debating a replacement for Sohail Afridi

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has told its members that Sohail Afridi will stay on as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's chief minister, and that nobody else may be considered for the post without the approval of party founder Imran Khan.

A notification issued on Thursday by PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan confirmed Afridi's continuation and barred party members, office-bearers, parliamentarians and other officials from arranging or attending meetings, introducing agendas or opening discussions about replacing the chief minister. The same order forbade them from weighing alternative candidates.

According to the notification, only Imran Khan can nominate a different candidate or reverse the existing decision, and his decisions on the matter are binding on every party member.

The directive was issued amid reports of disagreement inside the PTI over provincial leadership and political strategy, a period in which the party's internal positions have been unusually visible in public.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has been under emergency measures and governor's rule since October 11, declared after talks between the government and the opposition failed, according to Minute Mirror. Reports also circulated that Afridi had been taken into custody as the PTI's long march moved towards Swabi. Separately, a Peshawar anti-terrorism court issued arrest warrants for Afridi and other PTI leaders in connection with a May 9 attack case.

The party's internal differences have grown increasingly public. Former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur and PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja recently exchanged criticism over party divisions, provincial leadership and political decision-making. Raja raised concerns about what he described as attempts by undemocratic decision-makers to weaken internal consensus. Gandapur demanded evidence for the allegations and called for an apology, and disputed claims that provincial lawmakers were trying to choose the next chief minister without the approval of Imran Khan or the party's political committee.

Earlier, on October 24, Gohar announced that the PTI's provincial organisation would continue under Junaid Akbar. Senator Noorul Haq Qadri was given responsibility for chairing provincial cabinet meetings in Akbar's absence, with General Secretary Ali Asghar taking over if Qadri was unavailable.

The latest notification restates Imran Khan's authority over the party's provincial government and rules out internal debate over who leads it. DD News, reporting on the suspension of the provincial government, described the situation as a further setback for the jailed PTI founder.