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'Missing' Junaid Akbar remains PTI's KP president; Senator Noorul Haq Qadri to assume duties in his absence

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News Desk. (2026, October 24). 'Missing' Junaid Akbar remains PTI's KP president; Senator Noorul Haq Qadri to assume duties in his absence. Dawn. https://www.dawn.com/news/2039512/missing-junaid-akbar-remains-ptis-kp-president-senator-noorul-haq-qadri-to-assume-duties-in-his-absence

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Dawn · collected 2026-10-24 · by News Desk

Quick Summary

On October 14, PTI clarified that Junaid Akbar remains the party’s provincial president for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa despite being taken into preventative custody on October 11 along with Sohail Afridi and others following the imposition of governor’s rule in KP. Senator Noorul Haq Qadri will preside over PTI meetings in Akbar's absence, while PTI KP Secretary General Ali Asghar Khan will chair meetings if Qadri is unavailable. The notification also states that no changes to the provincial cabinet or organisational structure will be made until further notice.
Written by AI on 2026-10-24, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

As of October 24, 2026, MNA Junaid Akbar remains the PTI's provincial president for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), despite his whereabouts being unknown since he was taken into preventive custody on October 11. Senator Noorul Haq Qadri will preside over PTI meetings in Akbar's absence. Initially, there were reports of more than 50 lawmakers from the KP Assembly endorsing former chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur as acting provincial president, but PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan declared that the party organization would continue under Akbar’s presidency according to the PTI Constitution.

Written for “Junaid Akbar Missing Controversy” on 2026-11-04, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Junaid Akbar Missing Controversy
Politics · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 10% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Dawn
Hedges 2 of 20 claims Outlet record 72/100
“The articles describe different internal developments within PTI involving distinct individuals and issues.”
Dawn
Hedges 2 of 16 claims Outlet record 72/100
“Article A discusses PTI's demands for dialogue and release of political prisoners, while Article B clarifies that Junaid Akbar remains PTI's KP president but Noorul Haq Qadri will assume his duties in his absence due to preventative custody. These are different aspects of the same situation but not the same specific event.”
Dawn
⚖️ Leans right Hedges 1 of 12 claims Outlet record 72/100
“The articles describe different events related to the political situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, but not the same specific incident.”
Dawn
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 2 of 20 claims Outlet record 72/100
“Article A describes PTI's clarification regarding Junaid Akbar's status and role in his absence, while Article B discusses a joint parliamentary party meeting where lawmakers oppose further negotiations with the government.”
Dawn
Hedges 3 of 23 claims Outlet record 72/100
“While both articles discuss the detention of PTI leaders following the imposition of governor's rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, they describe different aspects and outcomes related to this broader situation.”
Missing lawmakers Different event
Dawn
⚖️ Leans strongly left Hedges 0 of 16 claims Outlet record 72/100
“Article A discusses multiple lawmakers being untraceable after emergency rule, while Article B specifically addresses PTI's clarification about Junaid Akbar remaining party president and Noorul Haq Qadri taking over in his absence.”
Dawn
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 2 of 26 claims Outlet record 72/100
“While both articles discuss internal conflicts within PTI following a protest and governance issues in KP, they describe distinct incidents: one focuses on the conflict between Raja and Gandapur, while the other clarifies Junaid Akbar's status as KP president despite his absence.”
Dawn
Hedges 2 of 19 claims Outlet record 72/100
“Both articles discuss similar situations involving political figures in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after governor's rule was imposed, but they focus on different aspects and individuals (Junaid Akbar vs. Sohail Afridi and Babar Saleem Swati).”
Emergency matters Different event
Dawn
⚖️ Leans right Hedges 10 of 40 claims Outlet record 72/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of the political situation in KP, with Article A focusing on the declaration of emergency and new administrative setup, while Article B addresses internal PTI party matters regarding Junaid Akbar's absence.”
Burnt bridges Different event
Dawn
⚖️ Leans strongly left Hedges 1 of 18 claims Outlet record 72/100
“The articles discuss related political developments in KP but describe different events and timeframes.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
21
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
10%
2 of 21 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
72/100
Dawn's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-24 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Dawn · 2693 article(s) · 3 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 3 correction(s)

Who wrote this

News Desk
363 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik on Tuesday assured the public that the government will make utmost efforts to meet the demand for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) during the winter months.
🔮 Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik on Tuesday assured the public that the government will make utmost efforts to meet the demand for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) during the winter months.
🔮 Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik on Tuesday assured the public that the government will make utmost efforts to meet the demand for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) during winters.
🔮 Following the revision, petrol will retail at Rs374.51 per litre, while HSD will cost Rs395.20.
🔮 The PTI founder also faces pending trials in terrorism cases related to the May 9, 2023 riots.
🔮 Also last week, the two countries launched the China-Pakistan Information Corridor (CPIC), which will be based on four pillars — media, business and enterprises, think tanks, and culture/tourism.
🔮 “The foundation he has laid will be critical to the carrier’s future commercial viability and success,” it added.
🔮 week, the two countries launched the China-Pakistan Information Corridor (CPIC), which will be based on four pillars — media, business and enterprises, think tanks, and culture/tourism.
🔮 The government announced on Monday that oil refineries would bear a burden of approximately Rs15 billion each month, which would allow petrol to be sold Rs15 cheaper than what it was in the global market amid the US-Israeli war on Iran.
🔮 Pakistan is also set to host the next meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of State (CHS) after assuming its chairmanship in September.
Wire or desk byline, not an individual reporter.
Also by News Desk
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 363 articles by News Desk →

Topics

Centre Khyber Pakhtunkhwa PTI the Constitution of PTI the KP Assembly

Subjects

PTI ORG · 9× Raja PERSON · 7× Gandapur GPE · 5× Akbar PERSON · 3× Qadri PERSON · 3× Junaid Akbar PERSON · 2× Khyber Pakhtunkhwa GPE · 2× Centre ORG · 1× Noorul Haq Qadri PERSON · 1× Sohail Afridi PERSON · 1×

Narrative

Gandapur also accused Raja of “hiding” during the party’s protest movement and wondered why Raja and Gohar did not attend parliamentary party meetings. “If the parliamentary party of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa wants to seek a constitutional and political solution to the current crisis through consultation within itself, who has given a few individuals the authority to label these elected representatives as traitors, conspirators, or undemocratic?” he wrote.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-24
🔮 PTI on Saturday clarified that MNA Junaid Akbar remains the party’s provincial president, but Senator Noorul Haq Qadri will preside over the party meetings in the former’s absence.

Claims (21 extracted, 2 hedged)

PTI on Saturday clarified that MNA Junaid Akbar remains the party’s provincial president, but Senator Noorul Haq Qadri will preside over the party meetings in the former’s absence. asserted
Qadri → clarify → absence
The whereabouts of Akbar remain unknown after he, along with Sohail Afridi and others, was taken into preventative custody following the Centre’s imposition of governor’s rule and emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Oct 11. asserted
he → remain → Oct
Amid the absence, there were reports that more than 50 lawmakers from the KP Assembly had met on Oct 14 to endorse former chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur’s nomination as acting provincial president in place of Akbar. asserted
lawmakers → be → Akbar
Subsequently, on Saturday, a notification signed by PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan declared that the party’s provincial organisation “shall continue to function under the presidency” of Akbar. asserted
organisation → sign → Akbar
Senator Qadri, the incumbent senior vice president (SVP) of PTI’s KP chapter, “shall preside over all meetings of PTI provincial cabinet in absence of Junaid Akbar and shall act according to the Constitution of PTI”. uncertain
Qadri → preside → PTI
Qadri has served as the federal religious affairs minister during the PTI government. asserted
Qadri → serve → government
Meanwhile, PTI KP Secretary General Ali Asghar Khan would “chair all meetings in the absence of SVP (Qadri) and is empowered to call and chair all meetings of other tiers of the provincial organisation”. asserted
Khan → chair → organisation
Asghar would also be “responsible for overall administration, coordination, supervision with all tiers and wings in order to implement party policies, strategies or decisions”. asserted
Asghar → implement → policies
The PTI notification further directed: “Subject to the foregoing, it is however made clear that no changes shall be made in the provincial cabinet or organisational structure of PTI KPK till further order.” asserted
changes → direct → order
The notification also follows a public spat on social media between Gandapur and PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja over the matter. asserted
notification → follow → matter
In a post on X, Raja had taken a dig at “the conspiratorial narrative” regarding a possible announcement by a group of party MPAs to nominate a new provincial president without permission from their jailed leader Imran Khan, or the party’s political committee. asserted
Raja → take → leader
On his part, Gandapur, in a lengthy post on X, criticised the secretary general for “levelling vague accusations” against his party colleagues and raised several questions regarding his statements. asserted
Gandapur → criticise → statements
Gandapur objects to Raja’s ‘snakes’ remarks asserted
Gandapur → object → remarks
In his post on Wednesday, Raja had cited a “narrative” that 68 PTI dissidents were planning to name a new provincial president for the party. asserted
dissidents → cite → party
He also accused them of cutting off contact with Afridi — whose role as the chief minister is now non-functional — and his team in the final days of the protest march, paving the way for emergency and governor’s rule in KP. asserted
role → accuse → KP
“Those spreading doubts — the snakes and the serpents — will be defeated,” Raja wrote. asserted
Raja → spread → doubts
Subsequently, Gandapur took to X to hit back at the secretary general’s claims and, in a series of tweets and audio messages, took strong exception to Raja’s tone and tenor. uncertain
Gandapur → take → tone
Demanding that he bring to an end “the spectacle” that had been made of the party, the former KP CM said that the secretary general had no right to accuse others of conspiracy, or call them names like “snakes and serpents”. asserted
general → demand → snakes
“Do you understand this? asserted
you → understand → this
We know how to make others understand if they don’t get this,” he said in an angry tone. asserted
he → know → tone
Gandapur also accused Raja of “hiding” during the party’s protest movement and wondered why Raja and Gohar did not attend parliamentary party meetings. “If the parliamentary party of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa wants to seek a constitutional and political solution to the current crisis through consultation within itself, who has given a few individuals the authority to label these elected representatives as traitors, conspirators, or undemocratic?” he wrote. asserted
he → accuse → traitors
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