Differences within the PTI leadership resurfaced after an audio clip of senior leader Junaid Akbar went public, in which he threatened to part ways with the party.

In the audio clip, Junaid Akbar, who is president of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chapter, was heard expressing his disappointment and announcing his decision to quit the party’s parliamentary fold.

In the audio clip shared in PTI’s WhatsApp group, Junaid Akbar also announced his plan to sit as an independent opposition member.

He strongly criticised the party’s internal leadership and decision-making.

In the audio, which circulated widely on Monday, Akbar said his “patience has run out” and declared that he would no longer be part of the parliamentary committee, nor recognise the party’s parliamentary leader or chief whip.

He said he would write to the speaker of the assembly requesting a separate seat from the PTI.

Confirming the authenticity of the audio, Akbar said he had conveyed his decision in the PTI parliamentary party’s WhatsApp group.

“From today, I am no longer part of the parliamentary party. I do not accept the parliamentary leader or the chief whip,” he said.

Akbar accused party leaders of repeatedly silencing him in the assembly, saying his own colleagues did not want him to speak.

“Every day, the same people speak. Our decency is being taken as weakness,” he said, adding that decisions about who speaks in the House were being made by a few individuals.

Questioning the authority of the chief whip, Akbar said, “Who is the chief whip to decide who will speak every day? Is there no humanity left that only some people speak while the rest are expected to just thump desks?”

He said he had previously spoken during Ramadan and during the budget session, but was recently denied the opportunity to speak despite repeated attempts.

“Are we here just to sit and clap while a few people monopolise the floor?” he asked.

“My own people stop me from speaking — they are all courtiers,” he said.

Akbar also criticised party lawmakers for failing to raise questions on terrorism in the assembly, including the absence of Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi.

“There is no courage to ask the truth. They come every day just to show their faces,” he said.

Akbar added that he would formally write to the speaker seeking an independent seat in the assembly.