On 15 October 2026 Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi posted a short video clip on X, declaring it “enough proof” of a covert partnership between the ruling Pakistan Tehreek‑e‑Insaf (PTI) and the banned Tehrik‑i‑Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The post quickly attracted thousands of views, but the material he presented offers little concrete verification. The clip’s screenshot shows an ARY NEWS broadcast with three anchors and an Urdu ticker asking whether Pakistan is ready to give the Afghan Taliban a new mandate. No explicit reference to PTI or the TTP appears in the visible text, and automated OCR of the ticker yields unrelated financial policy language.
Naqvi’s assertion that a single video clip can substantiate a claim of collusion is a classic example of political signaling. No forensic analysis, court filing, or independent investigative report has been released alongside the clip. In the absence of such documentation, the claim remains an allegation rather than a piece of legally admissible evidence.
Former PTI parliamentarian Javed Hashmi amplified the minister’s narrative later that afternoon, adding a separate charge that Ehsan Ullah Ehsan—the confessed mastermind of the 2023 APS attack—had allegedly received “immunity under the table” after being held in a safe house. Hashmi’s post provides no source for the immunity allegation, and it intertwines two distinct accusations—PTI‑TTP links and alleged state‑level protection of a terrorist—without offering corroborating evidence.
Another voice, self‑identified as Dr. Taimur Rahman, entered the conversation with a rhetorical question: why does PTI not label the TTP as a terrorist organization? The query adds no factual basis and serves only to reinforce the perception of PTI’s alleged ambivalence toward the militant group.
Within PTI’s own ranks, the controversy took a different shape. Samar Bilour, a PTI‑affiliated politician, posted a graphic that blames three PTI figures—MNA Asif Khan, MPA Fazal Ilahi, and a local school owner—for corruption that allegedly led to a school collapse in Dear Colony, Peshawar, killing dozens of children. The graphic’s Urdu caption accuses the three of “corruption that caused children’s deaths,” yet no independent verification of the school incident, the casualty figures, or the alleged graft has been presented. The graphic functions as a political meme, reinforcing a narrative of PTI misconduct while diverting attention from the minister’s video claim.
