LAHORE:
The 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 emerge over how to mobilize workers in the province.
Party sources said the Punjab leadership remained in a state of indecision, with concerns mounting over how to activate a fragmented organizational structure and meet mobilization targets set by the central leadership.
According to the sources, it would be a big challenge to revive the party’s scattered base in Punjab. Despite directives from the central leadership, officials in the provinces have remained largely inactive.
They added that Punjab chief organizer Aliya Hamza and the president of Central Punjab 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 possibility of mobilizing more than 200,000 young people from Punjab as part of the movement. The sources among the PTI legislators said that workers in Punjab were already scared due to arrests and raids which had dampened organizational activity.
They further pointed out that members of the National Assembly are required to travel to Islamabad every week, making it difficult for them to focus on mobilizing the party 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 MNA Waqas Man said some party figures based abroad should return to Pakistan if they wanted to lead mobilization efforts. “Some people from PTI are sitting abroad and making statements. They should come here and gather people.”
Leaders of TTAP on Thursday demanded that jailed PTI founder Imran Khan be shifted to Shifa International Hospital over concerns about his health, while launching a criticism of the government’s economic and governance policies.
In a press conference, TTAP leaders Taimur Saleem Jhagra, Hussain Ahmed Yousafzai and Khalid Yousaf Chaudhry questioned why the government made the PTI founder’s health “controversial”.
Jhagra said the problem could be solved by shifting Imran to Shifa International Hospital and giving access to his family and personal doctors. He claimed that authorities did not issue visas to Imran’s sons despite repeated requests since August last year.
The TTAP leaders criticized the government’s economic performance, claiming it had failed to introduce reforms over the past four years. They said the impact of rising fuel prices had already been felt by the public, and claimed that early hikes had benefited the companies by billions of rupees.
They further argued that Pakistan had not built up sufficient fuel reserves, unlike countries such as Russia and China, and warned that government policies had put the national economy at risk.
Highlighting economic indicators, the speakers claimed that exports had fallen by 33 percent this year and argued that the exchange rate was being artificially controlled, eroding investor confidence both locally and internationally.
