By Manzoor Ali

Copyright dawn

PESHAWAR: A day after Khyber Pakhtu-nkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur met PTI founder Imran Khan in Adiala jail, two provincial ministers left his cabinet amid speculations of a widening rift in the embattled party.

Irrigation Minister Aqi-b–ullah Khan and Educ-ation Minister Faisal Khan Tarakai, whose removal was reportedly approved by Imran Khan in the meeting with the CM, shared their ide-n-t-ical resignation letters on social media.

“With utmost res-p-ect, I, Faisal Khan Ta-r–akai, hereby tender my resignation from the office of mi–n-i-ster for elementary and secondary ed-u-c-a-t-ion, gov-e-rnm-ent of Khyber Pak-h-t-u-nk-h-wa,” Mr Tarakai said.

He said it had been an honour to serve in this capacity, entru-sted to him by Imran Khan and he “remai-ned highly indebted to him for confidence as well as for the opp-o-rtunity to contribute to the transforma-tion and uplift of the education department and system in KP”.

Mr Tarakai said that he performed to the best of his abilities to ensure and implement Imran Khan’s vision of transparency, efficiency and merit during his tenure as the minister. He said he would remain committed to the cause and vision of Imran Khan, while reiterating his commitment to the PTI as a worker.

Both former ministers were not available for comment when appr-oached by Dawn.

A PTI source told Dawn that there were rumours of the reshuffling of at least five ministers, including the two who stepped down. These rumours had been circulating for quite some time, but the resignation was still unexpected.

“The chief minister had informed both Qaiser and Shahram about the de-notification of their younger siblings; however, both said the ministers would resign ins-tead,” another source said.

Both ministers, hailing from Swabi district, are siblings of two senior party leaders. Aqibullah Khan is Asad Qaiser’s brother, while Faisal Khan Taraki is the younger brother of MNA Shahram Khan Tarakai, who had served as the provincial health minister in the Mahmood Khan government.

Sources told Dawn that Imran Khan green-lig-hted the removal of both ministers. Mr Gandapur had initially bristled at the prospect, saying it would further aggravate his problems. They alleged Mr Tarakai was “ineffective, irresponsive and not fully in control of his department”.

A Tarakai House spokesperson told Dawn that Mr Tarakai resigned because he was “not all-owed to work”. “The truth is that Mr Tarakai is a hard-working person, and when he was not allowed to work, he had no other option (but to step down),” the spokesperson added.

About Aqibullah Khan, sources claimed that his ministry was being run by his brother Asad Qaiser.

Asad Qaiser, however, denied meddling in his brother’s ministry. He said that he had been to his brother’s office only once for a briefing along with other party lawmakers. “This was my only visit to my brother’s office and there is no question of influencing or interfering with his ministry aff-airs,” Mr Qaiser added.

A senior PTI leader alleged that CM Gan-dapur had developed a ‘grudge’ against the ministers for their successful Swabi power show in February this year. The source claimed that the chief minister was unh-appy with the minister for supporting the public meeting arranged by PTI KP President Junaid Akbar Khan.

In a video message, CM Gandapur said he and Imran Khan had discussed reforms in the government almost six mon-ths ago and he had also spoken to Asad Qaiser and Shahram Tarakai about cabinet changes. He said in the Monday meeting, the cabinet reshuffle was discussed again and he later met Mr Faisal and Mr Aqib to inform them about the decision. He said more changes were in the pipeline, terming them a routine affair.

Muqaddam Khan in Swabi also contributed to this report

Published in Dawn, October 1st, 2025