From Cult Politics to Crime Patronage
By: Kousar Khan
When a political party starts to resemble a narcissistic relationship – gaslighting its people, weaponizing religion, and twisting every confrontation into victimhood- is no longer politics, it’s pathology. PTI has mastered this art. After exhausting its populist theatrics and religious masquerade, the party has now dived deep into psychological manipulation, the kind you’d expect from a toxic lover, not a political entity.
And nowhere is this uglier than in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
lass=”yoast-text-mark” />>For decades, the province especially its tribal districts has been infected with a shadow economy that thrives on smuggling, narcotics, and terror financing. The unfortunate truth is that in this political ecosystem, crime and politics have always shared a handshake. But what’s unfolding now under PTI’s banner is far more alarming – it’s normalization of criminality under the slogan of “people’s politics.”
<p data-rm-block-id=”block-4″>A recent controversial cleverly crafted tweet from Abdul Ghani Afridi, PTI’s MPA from Khyber Agency, which blew up online, wasn’t just a political statement, it was a case study in deflection.
“The time has passed when questioning a general made you a traitor, and questioning a cleric made you a disbeliever… I am not against anyone; I am only standing with my people.” Abdul Ghani Afridi on X (formerly Twitter)
<p data-rm-block-id=”block-6″>Instead of addressing the mounting accusations of drug trafficking, smuggling, and links to foreign networks, he opted for emotional manipulation, the timeless “I am a victim of state oppression” narrative. It was classic gaslighting: shift the focus, cry injustice, and rally the cult. After scratching the surface, the murky details of Ghani’s wrongdoings shouts volumes.
Abdul Ghani’s record of corrupt deeds is damning.
On 2 October 2025, Bara police arrested a drug dealer named Ameen in a major bust. The public hailed it as a rare win against the narcotics mafia until, astonishingly, MPA Abdul Ghani Afridi hit the streets against the police. That’s right: a lawmaker protesting in defense of a known drug trafficker.
This wasn’t the first time Afridi chose crime over law. From 2024 onward, a trail of incidents ties him, directly or through proxies to organized smuggling and destabilization efforts in Khyber and Jamrud.Leaked RAW documents, now circulating online, have deepened the controversy. They reveal alleged contacts between Afridi and Indian handlers in late 2024 coinciding with a spike in violence, disinformation, and anti-state activity in the tribal belt.
Coincidence? Hardly.
March 2024: six Khyber police officers sacked for facilitating smugglers.
April: an IED attack in Bara injures six FC men.
May 31: a warehouse in Akakhel uncovered with tons of Afghan contraband.
August: grenade attacks on police and FC posts in Sakhi Pul.
September: drug smuggling from Torkham exposed.
November: the so-called “long march” used to funnel narcotics and weapons toward Islamabad.
data-rm-block-id=”block-10″>The chain is clear; crime, terror, and politics moving in unison, wrapped in the same flag of “Pashtun rights” and “state oppression.”
On 11 October 2024, Afridi intervened to free PTM worker Khan Wali from police custody. That same area later became a hub for drugs, arms, and violence. On 8 February 2025, 60 kilograms of crystal meth were seized in Ali Masjid, yet the official report showed 0.3 kilograms. That’s not a typo, that’s corruption. Even the gold smuggling network busted on 2 September 2025 traced back to his circle.
What we’re witnessing is the evolution of a political species that thrives on chaos.
When populism fades, it feeds on crime. When accountability approaches, it hides behind nationalism. When truth emerges, it screams “victim.”
The bigger question, however, goes beyond Abdul Ghani. Why does PTI repeatedly shelter such elements? Why are its MNAs and MPAs always the first to protest when law enforcement strikes at smugglers or extremists? Is this compassion for the poor or protection for their partners?
>>>Recently in Tirah, explosive material stored inside the houses of Khawarij commanders detonated, several innocent civilians lost their lives, including women and children.
>Yet, instead of acknowledging that terrorists were operating from within their own neighborhoods, Ghani sprang into action, not to condemn the culprits, but to stage protests and raise anti-state slogans ignoring the elephant in the room.
This isn’t mere politics anymore. This is a Crime-Terror-Drug Nexus with a party flag stitched over it. The so-called champions of “freedom” are knee-deep in illicit economies, funding unrest, and shielding criminals under the guise of “people’s resistance.”
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa once stood for valor, sacrifice, and integrity. Today, it risks being remembered as a case study of a vicious politico-terror nexus. The state cannot afford to keep looking away. Nor can the public keep romanticizing “rebellious” leaders who are, in truth, profit-seeking opportunists, with one hand patting the shoulder of extremism and the other on the Quran.
id=”block-16″>If democracy is to mean anything in Pakistan, the mask must come off. Abdul Ghani Afridi is yet another poisonous plant sown by PTI, slowly polluting Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s soil and turning the land barren. He’s a symptom of a deeper rot where religion, politics, and crime fuse into one body.
PTI’s cult politics has reached its logical end: from emotional manipulation to criminal complicity. It’s time the people of Khyber understood the deception – every roar of “azadi” from these politicians is nothing but a smokescreen, hiding the stench of their trade in drugs, violence, and treachery against their own land.
