Situationist: Imran’s incarceration tests PTI’s cohesion – Newspaper

The PTI GROUP is becoming increasingly disillusioned with the current leadership of the party, accusing them to become complacent in their efforts to secure the release of party founder Imran Khan, whose absence has led to a major power vacuum within the party.

The result intraparty fights they appear to have formed two power centers within the party, with Imran’s sister Aleema Khan on one side and his wife Bushra Bibi, who was recently released from prison, on the other.

As this power struggle takes its toll on the PTI population, a senior leader, on condition of anonymity, pointed out that the party is being pushed to the limits amid a nearly two-year crackdown.

Imran Khan has ‘limited options’ when it comes to revamping the hierarchy, with some old faithful – such as Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Yasmin Rashid among others—being in prison and others—such as Murad Saeed and Hammad Azhar etc. — forced to hide.

Bushra-Aleema ‘breakdown’ takes center stage as workers grow disenchanted with incumbent leadership

daybreak contacted several PTI leaders at the regional, provincial and national levels to gauge the mood of the party. Many believed that Mr. Khan’s directives were not being implemented at the cost of ceding political space to the ruling parties.

This was evident in the recent brouhaha over the 26th amendmentwhere the ruling coalition made efforts to win the support of the party through Maulana Fazlur Rehman. But the PTI’s negotiating position has been troubled by mixed signals.

Advocates such as Advocate Gohar Ali Khan and Asad Qaiser appeared to be in favor of continued engagement with the government, but other elements in the party – particularly those currently based abroad – berated the local leadership for their apparent “surrender”.

“We should not even have named the parliamentary committee to select the next Chief Justice of Pakistan because the ‘fake government’ only wanted PTI’s approval,” PTI Punjab Information Secretary Shaukat Basra said.

However, observers believe that by the boycott of this commission and does not fully participate in the voting process in the two chambers of the parliament, the party did not make an effective opposition and failed to bring its protest on the parliamentary file.

The fact that, following the adoption of the amendment, the party did nominated Shibli Faraz and Omar Ayub at the reconstituted Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) shows that there were second thoughts among management on this issue.

Broken link

“Mr Khan wants the party to be mobilized and the people at large to remain involved, but the leaders themselves have become complacent and are enjoying their positions as party leaders or elected representatives in assemblies,” PTI Central Additional General Secretary said Punjab, Sardar Azeemullah Khan. daybreak.

“The link between Mr Khan and the public has been broken,” he said, adding that those leading the protests on the ground wanted a say in the decision-making process because the “clicktivism” practiced by incumbent leaders did not would be enough.

Another PTI loyalist questioned the absence of party leaders from the ground at the time of the trigger D-Chowk’s protest in Islamabad in the first week of October.

“There was no one to lead,” said a party leader in central Punjab, adding that party bigwigs had distanced themselves from the fray, leaving Imran Khan and others in the lurch.

These are the feelings that have agitated many young party workers, who believe that protests are the only option to secure their leader’s freedom.

Senior advocate Salman Akram Raja, a relatively new face who recently replaced Omar Ayub as the party’s general secretary, also expressed resentment over the party leaders’ decision to stay away from the protests.

“Why would people take to the streets and face fascism if their leaders stay away,” he was quoted as saying by party members. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur called such people “traitors” to the PTI cause.

“Men in positions (of power) are so shameless that they are not even going to attend Imran Khan’s cases in the courts,” observed another leader, claiming that “a change in party hierarchy is on the cards” in light of recent developments.

When daybreak when Mr Basra was asked about resentment within the party ranks, he blamed the chaos on changing political dynamics, saying the party was doing its best to resist the “fake government and powers” through its street power.

He alleged that Mr Khan had personally asked party leaders such as Murad Saeed, Mian Aslam Iqbal and Hammad Azhar to stay off the grid to avoid arrest, adding that when the PTI founder asked Mr Azhar to come out , he participated in various protests and conventions. .

the Bushra-Aleema rift

Mr. Basra believes that with Bushra Bibi is out of prisonworkers were gathering energy to launch another wave of protests. The party plans to make “its next protest call in November so strong that the whole of Pakistan will take to the streets,” he claimed.

While Bushra Bibi may provide impetus for such protests, the reported rift between Aleema and the former first lady could hurt the party’s chances of coming up with a coherent strategy.

Aleema Khan’s active involvement in party affairs and her criticism of senior party leaders rubbed many leaders the wrong way.

Aleema Khan, who met Mr Khan for the third time in as many days on Wednesday, ruffled some feathers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after she reprimanded Azam Swati for the protest in Tarnol, which was called off at the last minute. In the latest audio leaks, she was heard saying that Bushra Bibi wanted to take over the party.

Some in the party fear that Aleema is gunning for “absolute control” and wants to keep Bushra Bibi at bay. This impression is borne out by some of her recent statements.

But despite the squabbles and setbacks, PTI General Secretary Salman Akram Raja seems hopeful about the possibility of Imran Khan being released from jail.

Mr Khan will be “among the people” in November or December, he claimed. However, he is also pinning his hopes on a massive outpouring of public support, saying: “The protest of a few thousand people will not be enough … (we will need) almost half a million people.”

Published in Dawn, October 31, 2024