ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) founder’s latest directive has triggered its first visible impact in parliament, as Faisal Amin Khan, brother of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, and Member National Assembly from NA-44 Dera Ismail Khan resigned from all National Assembly standing committees.

Faisal Amin Khan stepped down from the Standing Committee on Economic Affairs, the Standing Committee on National Food Security, and the Parliamentary Task Force. His resignation was submitted to PTI Chief Whip Aamir Dogar, citing the party founder’s instructions as the sole reason behind the decision.

Political observers see this as a strategic move aimed at tightening internal party discipline and signaling unity at a time when PTI faces mounting political and legal pressures. The step also underscores the founder’s continued influence over parliamentary matters despite his absence from the assembly.

Interestingly, Faisal Amin Khan has once again emerged as the first lawmaker to comply with such a directive. In 2022, he was also the first to resign when Imran Khan instructed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assembly members to vacate their seats, a move that later snowballed into mass resignations.

The development highlights PTI’s evolving strategy of exerting pressure from outside mainstream legislative functions, while at the same time keeping its members symbolically aligned with the party founder’s narrative of resistance.

Analysts believe the latest resignation could serve as a litmus test for other PTI legislators, potentially paving the way for a series of withdrawals from committees. If replicated widely, this could disrupt the working of key parliamentary forums, particularly in areas of economic affairs and food security, where opposition input has traditionally played a critical role.