Lahore, Pakistan: After the announcement of the so-called Black Day on February 8 on the instructions of jailed Imran Khan, PTI workers are asking for instructions about who will do what but nobody among leadership knows whose responsibility is to make Black Day Public Meeting as success and possibly it is due to intra-party infighting.
Based in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the first, second and even the third tier of the party has no connection with Punjab’s followers and only a handful of lawyers from Punjab (mostly from Lahore) are responding to PTI followers that their work is to protect Imran Khan in courts and they have no experience of creating and handling mass-movements.
“The news of differences within the party has become more apparent. It was already clear that there are serious political differences between Junaid Akbar and Ali Amin Gandapur (both from KP) and they are keen to demonstrate their political strength with their respective. On the one hand, Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur has announced a rally in Dera Ismail Khan, while the new provincial president of PTI, Junaid Akbar, has announced a rally in Swabi but who will work in Lahore? nobody knows in Punjab”, commented a PTI leader from Lahore with the request of anonymity.
Hammad Azhar is reluctant to be active after news of an alleged video of him with a PTI-grown female anchor
Ali Amin Gandapur is trying to make the Dera Ismail Khan rally successful by using all the provincial government resources and machinery, while Junaid Akbar has given Rs 80 million to make his Swabi rally successful and has also started the funding process.
Aliya Hamza is active but without the financial resources to mobilise the workers
“The question arises here that both belong to the same party, two separate rallies within the same province are indicating severe discord in the party. Another question is who will give funds for the Lahore event (Black Day rally and public meeting). Khan’s family is not ready to even offer a cup of tea to workers while Hammad Azhar is reluctant to be active after news of an alleged video of him with a PTI-grown female anchor and he or his family also has a history of spending not a single penny on workers”, added the worried PTI leader from Lahore.
The newly appointed Punjab chief party organizer Aliya Hamza is active but without the financial resources to mobilise the workers. She formally submitted an application to the Lahore deputy commissioner, seeking a grant of “No Objection Certificate” for the political gathering that was denied and now the question is whether PTI followers will go to the rally without having NOC in their hands, knowing that Lahore police would show no mercy when they will gather without having NOC for meetings and rallies?
Political reporters from Lahore when asked to comment on the situation, the majority of them is of the view PTI is raising slogans of rigging and holding rallies on February 8, but why are their rallies limited to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa only? If there was really rigging, then why was there no rigging in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and why KP government is not a result of rigging (as claimed by JUI that elections were rigged by PTI in KP)?
The Punjab leadership has repeatedly said in veiled terms that PTI is only found in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the response of the PTI President of KP had created feelings of dejection among Punjab leaders when Junaid Akbar bluntly said Punjab leadership should manage their issues and he would work only for KP province.
PMLN Punjab circles claim that given the lack of interest in PTI rallies by the public, the rallies of February 8 have been limited to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa only so that a large gathering can be seen in the rally by forcibly involving government resources, including government employees, teachers, and police personnel. The public has now come to know that the PTI leadership, as always, will use the public to create riots to hide its failure and will escape and trap the public. Everyone knows that those arrested in the November 26 riots are still going through the courts while the leadership is enjoying themselves. Similarly, in Sangjani, after seeing the failed rally, police personnel were attacked and Ali Amin Gandapur himself fled. Similarly, on November 26, Bushra Bibi left everyone and fled in Ali Amin Gandapur’s car. They are of the view the public has rejected PTI’s violent narratives.
