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 jailed founder Imran Khan, as questions arise 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 meet the mobilization targets set by the central leadership.
According to sources, reviving the party’s scattered base in Punjab would be a big challenge. Despite directives from the central leadership, provincial officials have remained largely inactive.
They added that Punjab’s top organizer Aliya Hamza and the Central Punjab president are currently in hiding due to convictions, while the Lahore president is reportedly not in touch with anyone.
Lawmakers have also expressed concern over the feasibility of mobilizing over 200,000 youth from Punjab as part of the movement. Sources among PTI lawmakers said workers in Punjab were already fearful due to arrests and raids, which had curbed organizational activity.
They further noted that members of the National Assembly must travel to Islamabad every week, making it difficult for them to focus on mobilizing the party at the grassroots level.
A PTI leader pointed out that the situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was different as the party is in government there, unlike in Punjab.
Meanwhile, PTI MNA Waqas Man said some foreign-based party figures should 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 rally people.”
TTAP leaders on Thursday demanded that jailed PTI founding chairman Imran Khan be shifted to Shifa International Hospital amid concerns over his health, while launching criticism at the government’s economic and governance policies.
Addressing a press conference, TTAP leaders Taimur Saleem Jhagra, Hussain Ahmed Yousafzai and Khalid Yousaf Chaudhry questioned why the government was making the PTI founder’s health “controversial”.
Jhagra said the problem could be resolved by shifting Imran to Shifa International Hospital and allowing access to his family and personal doctors. He alleged that authorities were not issuing visas to Imran’s children despite repeated requests since August last year.
TTAP leaders criticized the government’s economic performance, alleging that it had not introduced reforms in the last four years. They said the public had already felt the impact of rising fuel prices, claiming the early increases had benefited businesses by billions of rupees.
They further argued that Pakistan had failed to accumulate adequate fuel reserves, unlike countries such as Russia and China, and warned that the government’s policies had put the national economy at risk.
Highlighting economic indicators, speakers claimed that exports had declined by 33 percent this year and alleged that the exchange rate was being artificially controlled, eroding investor confidence both locally and internationally.
