Deep divisions within the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) have surfaced in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa just days before the Senate elections, as party MPA Tariq Aryani publicly lashed out at senior leadership in a viral video circulating on social media.

Speaking to PTI workers in Mardan, Tariq Aryani alleged that Barrister Gohar, Shakeel Afridi and Atif Khan called him and told him that the PTI founder wanted Mashal Yousafzai to be given a Senate ticket, so he should become Mashal’s proposer and seconder as per the founder’s wishes.

However, Aryani claimed that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur refused outright, stating: “Even if the PTI founder himself says it, I will not make Mishal a senator.”

Aryani went further, accusing Gandapur of deliberately obstructing the release of the party’s founder.“Our party has been hijacked,” he said, adding, “Ali Amin Gandapur does not want the PTI founder to be freed.”

In a charged exchange with party workers, Aryani questioned the performance of the PTI-led provincial government: “Tell me honestly, isn’t our government worse than the ANP’s? Isn’t corruption rampant under our rule?”

To which the crowd responded in unison: “Yes, there is corruption.”

The explosive remarks have stirred controversy within the party ranks, highlighting deepening internal dissent as critical Senate polls approach.