LAHORE:
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) appears to be grappling with internal uncertainty in Punjab over plans to launch a post-Eid movement for the release of its incarcerated founder Imran Khan as questions emerge over how to mobilize workers in the province.
Party sources said the Punjab leadership remained in a state of indecision, with growing concerns over how to activate a fragmented organizational structure and achieve mobilization targets set by the central leadership.
According to sources, revitalizing the party’s scattered base in Punjab would pose a major challenge. Despite directives from central leaders, provincial officials remained largely inactive.
They added that Punjab Chief Organizer Aliya Hamza and Central Punjab Speaker are currently in hiding due to their convictions, while the Lahore Speaker is reportedly not in contact with anyone.
The lawmakers also expressed concern over the feasibility of mobilizing over 200,000 youth from Punjab under the movement. Sources among PTI lawmakers said workers in Punjab were already worried due to the arrests and searches, which had dampened the organization’s activity.
They further pointed out that members of the National Assembly have to travel to Islamabad every week, making it difficult for them to focus on party mobilization at the grassroots level.
A PTI leader noted that the situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was different as the party is in government there, unlike in Punjab.
Meanwhile, PTI MP Waqas Man said some party leaders based abroad would have to return to Pakistan if they wanted to lead the mobilization efforts. “Some PTI people are sitting abroad and making statements. They should come here and bring people together.”
TTAP leaders on Thursday demanded that PTI founding president Imran Khan be shifted to Shifa International Hospital over concerns over his health, while also launching a criticism of the government’s economic and governance policies.
Addressing a press conference, TTAP leaders Taimur Saleem Jhagra, Hussain Ahmed Yousafzai and Khalid Yousaf Chaudhry wondered why the government was making the PTI founder’s health “controversial”.
Jhagra said the problem could be resolved by transferring Imran to Shifa International Hospital and allowing him access to his family and personal doctors. He alleged that authorities were not issuing visas to Imran’s sons despite repeated requests since August last year.
TTAP leaders have criticized the government’s economic performance, saying it has failed to introduce reforms over the past four years. They said the impact of the fuel price hike had already been felt by the public, saying the initial increases had benefited businesses to the tune of billions of rupees.
They further argued that Pakistan had failed to build adequate fuel reserves, unlike countries like Russia and China, and warned that the government’s policies had put the national economy at risk.
Highlighting economic indicators, speakers said exports had declined by 33 percent this year and the exchange rate was artificially controlled, eroding investor confidence both locally and internationally.
