PTI faces internal fissures in wake of protest fiasco

PESHAWAR: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), which has been facing challenges on the political and legal fronts for months, has now been gripped with internal rifts in the wake of the party's "do-or-die" protest fiasco, The News reported on Thursday.

The party's leadership, particularly PTI founder Imran Khan's wife Bushra Bibi and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, are facing strong criticism for their decision to push forward with the protest at D-Chowk despite Khan's agreement to hold a rally at Sangjani.

The decision to push towards D-Chowk ultimately exposed the PTI workers to state action, leading to widespread condemnation.

The former ruling party, following the government crackdown had initially announced a "temporary suspension", however, CM Gandapur later announced that the sit-in was still going on as only Khan had the authority to call it off.

The party, claiming that as many as 20 people lost their lives during the protest, has said that it would approach the courts against the government, the Ministry of Interior, and the interior minister

Meanwhile, Islamabad's police chief, Ali Rizvi, denied that live ammunition had been used during the operation and said that 600 protesters had been arrested in Tuesday's operation, bringing the total since the protest sit-in began on Sunday to 954, reported Reuters.

Party insiders reveal that senior leaders are now engaged in a blame game, pointing fingers at each other for the protest’s poor planning and ineffective strategies.

Some leaders specifically criticised Bushra Bibi for insisting on reaching the D-Chowk despite alternate proposals. The protest, aimed at securing Khan's release and pressurising the government, failed to achieve its objectives, sparking disagreements among various factions within the party.

CM Gandapur has dismissed the allegation of internal rifts in the party and told this scribe that the protest was successful and described it as the largest march in Pakistan despite numerous hurdles and the use of force against the party.

He said that despite these challenges, the PTI workers managed to reach D-Chowk; however, the government's use of live ammunition and resulting fatalities were unacceptable.

The chief minister said that as a political party, the PTI did not endorse bloodshed and reaffirmed that the struggle for its rights and demands would continue, as it aligns with the party's core ideology.

The PTI sources have revealed that some senior leaders accuse the central leadership of lacking strategic foresight. Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif, a spokesperson for the KP CM and adviser on information, disclosed that Khan was initially agreeable to holding a rally at Sangjani but Bushra opposed the idea, leading to the party's eventual loss.

Senior PTI leader Shaukat Yousafzai also expressed his frustration, stating: "Gandapur has been made a scapegoat. [Imran] Khan had agreed to Sangjani, but Bushra's [Bibi] insistence on D-Chowk cost the party heavily."

"Will the party be led by Bushra Bibi or the leadership? If the leadership lacks authority, they should resign. The D-Chowk incident was deeply regrettable. Where was PTI's Punjab leadership during all this period?" he questioned.

"The only ones standing with the workers were Gandapur, Asad Qaiser, Omar Ayub, Ali Asghar and some others," he said in a video message separately.

He further criticised the lack of planning, saying: "Even if we had sat at D-Chowk, there was no concrete plan in place. Why wasn't a consultative committee formed before leaving for Peshawar? Unfortunately, those leading the party did not lead the procession".

He said that another major criticism was directed at the protest's logistical shortcomings. Low turnout and insufficient facilities for participants, especially those who travelled from far-flung areas, contributed to the protest's failure. Several workers also expressed disappointment over the poor arrangements.

Gandapur was praised for bearing the pressure from the party and its workers, but Yousafzai pointed out that "the party needs to reflect on why the real faces were sidelined. Negotiations with the government were possible [but] who rejected them? The government should not have resorted to such brutality, but internal mismanagement is also to blame".

"There must be an inquiry into this matter as to why they took the party workers to D-Chowk and then left them alone at the mercy of law enforcement agencies and secretly disappeared from the scene," he said.

A senior PTI leader told The News: "The central leaders present there were aware of the crackdown on the party workers the same night but the poor party workers were not informed about the operation against them."

Stressing anonymity, he said many senior party leaders had returned home from the Peshawar-Islamabad Motorway near Burhan Interchange when containers were removed and the road was cleared for traffic as they were suspicious about the role of some people there.

"At the motorway, some of us felt that the workers were going to be misused for the personal interests of some individuals and that is exactly what happened," he said adding: "Where were Barrister Gohar and Salman Akram Raja and other senior leaders of the PTI? Leaders like them call themselves the face of the PTI, yet they were absent".

He revealed that Barrister Saif had informed the party members of Khan's instructions to move the protest to an alternative location, as proposed by the government but this plan was reportedly blocked.

"Why were these instructions not followed? Barrister Saif claims Bushra opposed the move. While we respect her as Khan's wife, she holds no leadership position in the PTI. The party leadership must clarify who allowed this interference," he asserted.

"Why didn't the leadership engage in meaningful talks with the government? Who blocked the discussions?" he questioned, calling for transparency from the party's decision-makers.

Rejecting government allegations that the PTI protesters were armed, Yousafzai said: "If we had weapons, why didn't we retaliate during the state’s violence? These are baseless allegations aimed at justifying the crackdown".

He expressed grief over the loss of lives, regardless of affiliation. "It's tragic to see people dying, whether they were from the government or our side. Such violence is unacceptable and a stain on our nation".

In a direct challenge to the PTI leadership, Yousafzai demanded accountability.

"If our leaders cannot face the situation or stand with the workers, they should step down. This is an injustice to PTI and Khan. Leadership is about action, not titles. Our failures in Islamabad are the result of poor planning and lack of unity," he said.

The former lawmaker further reiterated that the workers' loyalty was to the PTI founder and not individual leaders.

"We protested for Khan and his vision, not for anyone else. The leaders owe an explanation to the workers and must reflect on their mistakes. Without accountability and reform, we risk destroying PTI's credibility and Imran Khan's legacy," he warned.

Meanwhile, Bushra, Gandapur, former president Arif Alvi other PTI leaders were booked in seven new cases at three police stations of Attock, as per an INP news agency report.

Cases were registered under 23 different sections, including terrorism, attempt to murder, vandalism and others.

Also,  a one-day physical remand was approved for 35 PTI activists, arrested during the Islamabad protest. Five suspects from Hassan Abdal police station and 30 from another police station were presented before the Rawalpindi sessions judge as the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) judge was on leave on Wednesday.

The suspects face charges under terrorism-related sections and were scheduled to appear in the ATC on Thursday (today).

Separately, all the regional police officers and unit heads in KP have been directed to provide details of teargas shells in their areas to find if any of the stock had been misused.

The directives were issued following some media reports that the PTI protesters used teargas shells available with the KP police against police in Islamabad.

"All regional police officers and unit heads are requested to convey to the Central Police Office, Peshawar, about available stocks of teargas shells and the statement regarding their utilisation during the last week along with details," read a letter from the Central Police Office (CPO).

In another development, KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi criticised the PTI for creating a law and order situation in Islamabad and said restoration of peace in KP was more important than any other issue.

"I am going to Kurram tomorrow and I invite the chief minister to jointly find a solution to this serious issue by visiting the people there," the governor told a press conference on return from Umrah.

He also said that over 150 people had lost lives and hundreds of others displaced in Kurram since October, but neither the chief minister nor any other leader had visited the troubled district. He said the Provincial Disaster Management Authority had nothing to provide when it was approached to help the affected people in Kurram.

Kundi further invited the chief minister to the all-parties conference being held in December's first week at the Governor House over KP's law and order situation.