Loyalty or Political Suicide?

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) candidate Suhail Afridi has been elected as the 30th Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with 90 votes. Suhail Afridi is the fourth PTI Chief Minister in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, following Pervez Khattak, Mahmood Khan, and Ali Amin Gandapur, who previously held the position on behalf of PTI.
Sometimes in politics, the biggest mistake is not loyalty to an ideology or party but standing with the wrong people at the wrong time—especially when those people have lost their credibility, direction, and purpose. Suhail Afridi’s unwavering loyalty to PTI has now raised a question that cannot be ignored: Is this loyalty becoming his biggest political mistake?
PTI was once a party that rose with the slogan of a “New Pakistan” and became a symbol of public hope. However, over time, instead of dreams, failures, contradictions, and conflicts have stuck to the party’s fabric. Suhail Afridi’s continuous support for this party shows that he is loyal to principles, not personalities. But the question remains: what use is loyalty to principles that are buried somewhere inside the party itself?
Suhail Afridi is among those few who not only stood by the party during difficult times but also did not abandon loyalty despite pressure, threats, and personal loss. But what was the reward for this sacrifice? Political isolation, internal conspiracies, and the “foolishness” of party leadership, which is proving more damaging than enemies.
It is said that if the enemy is wise, one can negotiate with them. But if friends themselves are foolish, lack insight, and make decisions based on reaction, they cease to be friends—they become a burden.
The recent political decline, fragmentation, and turmoil in PTI are the result of these foolish decisions made by the party’s wise enemies from within. Workers like Suhail Afridi, who remained connected with sincerity and principles, have suffered the most.
When loyalty becomes aimless, it ceases to be a principle and turns into political suicide. Suhail Afridi must now ask himself whether he is part of a caravan that has lost its way or if he has prematurely burned his boats.
PTI must also consider that if it fails to recognize its true and sincere workers, the future will only bring loneliness, regret, and defeat.

If people like Suhail Afridi have become a question today, it is not their fault. The fault lies with the foolish friends who are quickly proving to be more dangerous than enemies.
In Pakistani politics, the fate of loyalists is often betrayal. If parties do not learn, loyalty will become a crime in the future, and the “wise enemy” will prove to be better.