TTAP spokesperson Akhundzada Hussain. Photo: file
LAHORE:
Tehreek-e-Tahafuz Ayeen-e-Pakistan (TTAP) will hold its second meeting on Monday (today) to finalize arrangements for February 8 as signs of a tactical shift away from street agitation towards more calibrated ways of registering protest emerge, according to sources in the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
The evolving approach comes amid heightened state scrutiny and internal assessments of mobilization capacity, prompting the alliance to reassess how best to mark the anniversary of general elections it claims were marred by widespread fraud.
While February 8 remains central to TTAP’s political messaging, sources suggest that the method of protest is still being closely guarded.
TTAP spokesperson Akhundzada Hussain, speaking to The Express Pakinomist, confirmed that a meeting of the TTAP leadership would be held at Mehmood Khan Achakzai’s residence around
Asked about the apparent shift in approach, he said that until now mass protests and rallies were not actually on the cards, though the final decision rested with TTAP chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai.
Asked if that meant there would be no activity on the streets and roads, he said they would “keep the plan close to their chest”.
He added that given the pre-emptive regressive measures against the PTI by the state in an attempt to throttle their plans, they could not afford to make everything public in advance.
Akhundzada said their focus at this stage was on wheel stops and shutdowns across the country.
He said that whatever plan was finalised, the decision had been made to set “the wheel in motion” a day before “D-Day”.
He said this would be the second meeting on February 8 and it would be attended by TTAP chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai, PTI chief Barrister Gohar, Salman Akram Raja, Allama Raja Nasir, Muhammad Zubair and Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar.
A source within the PTI said that so far no preparations had been made for any street movement, suggesting a shift in policy or, more directly, a recognition of exhaustive mobilization-worthy ground support.
“We have the whole public behind us, the whole country knows that the election was rigged, so what,” he said, adding that the public did not matter in the existing power equation.
He said the point was that PTI wanted to see what Achakzai planned on February 8 as “it will be his show now, not PTI’s alone”.
The PTI, he said, would be a member of it.
He added that Mehmood Khan Achakzai’s actual utility was not to run a street movement but to find a way out of the “blind alley” in which the PTI was stuck.
The source said adopting a safer route on February 8 would be a wise move and instead focus should be shifted towards backdoor engagement to create some political space for PTI.
He said protests in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa alone would not cost much, while any attempt at a street movement in Punjab could have disastrous results, given what he called the state’s unbridled use of force against the party.
