By Syed Tauqeer Zaidi
DERA ISMAIL KHAN: The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) suffered a major political setback in Dera Ismail Khan as more than a dozen senior, active, and ideological party workers—including members from families associated with the PPP for three generations—officially left the party and joined the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
The mass defection has shaken the party’s organizational structure in the city. The departing leaders and workers met former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sardar Ali Amin Gandapur and formally joined PTI under the leadership of Waqar Baloch.
Those who switched allegiance included PPP Dera City activist and District General Secretary of People’s Youth Waqar Baloch, Divisional General Secretary People’s Youth Murtaza Shabbir, former Information Secretary PSF Syed Muntazar Mehdi, former Information Secretary PPP Syed Askar Abbas Advocate, Niaz Hussain Shah, Syed Ashfaq Bukhari, Munawar Shah, senior leader of Old Workers Alliance Syed Ghulam Abbas Shah, Habibullah, Nail Tasneem, Ali Nawaz Service Advocate High Court, Salman Syed, Abbas Habib, Mian Khan Sadozai Advocate High Court, Mudassar Rasheed Baloch, Murad Ali Baloch, and several other political activists.
Ali Amin Gandapur welcomed the new entrants, expressing confidence that they would play a key role in strengthening PTI in Dera Ismail Khan. Party workers cited alleged anti-worker policies, poor strategy, and neglect by the Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Faisal Karim Kundi, and local PPP leadership as the main reasons for leaving. Workers said they had long been excluded from decision-making and denied recognition within the party.
The newly joined leaders described PPP as no longer a mass party, claiming it had become restricted to a small group of individuals while sidelining ideological workers. They added that the organisational structure in Dera Ismail Khan had collapsed, eroding the party’s political credibility.
Waqar Baloch said he had devoted his political life to PPP, defending the party on every platform, including social media, but had grown frustrated with the attitude of local and provincial leadership toward city workers. “PPP leaders prefer personal loyalists over ideological workers. Today, with a heavy heart, I bid farewell to PPP forever and proudly join PTI, because Ali Amin Gandapur is a sincere leader who truly cares for the workers and the people of Dera,” he said.
Syed Muntazar Mehdi, an active PPP worker since 2013, said his loyalty and sacrifices had gone unrecognized. “Continuous neglect, indifference, and broken trust forced me to leave PPP and join PTI. This decision is not based on anger, but is the logical result of years of silent suffering,” he said.
Political analysts in Dera Ismail Khan described the defections as a major loss for PPP, while PTI hailed it as an important breakthrough ahead of the upcoming local government and general elections.
