'Imran Khan's troubles increasing due to PTI leadership’s blunders'

PESHAWAR: Senior PTI leader Shaukat Yousafzai rebuked the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leadership on Thursday for their poor handling of the Islamabad march, claiming that the sufferings of imprisoned party founder-chairman Imran Khan were aggravating as a result of the present leadership’s mistakes.

In a statement, the former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa minister said that the central PTI leadership was entirely to blame for this — referring to the abrupt suspension of the 'do-or-die' D-Chowk dharna.

He asked that if the PTI founder gave instruction to hold the sit-in at Sangjani, then why it was ignored? "Strategy in politics is made by looking at the situation."

The former ruling party's protest demanding Khan's release culminated with nearly 1,000 supporters being arrested by authorities.

PTI Secretary-General Salman Akram Raja, claiming that at least 20 people lost their lives, has said that the party would approach the courts against the government, the Ministry of Interior, and the interior minister

Meanwhile, Islamabad's police chief, Ali Rizvi, denied that live ammunition had been used during the operation and said that 600 protesters had been arrested in Tuesday's operation, bringing the total since the protest sit-in began on Sunday to 954.

Yousafzai said that God gave the party's incumbent leaders a great opportunity which they wasted. If they had proceeded with consultation among themselves, the results would have been different today, he added.

To a query, he replied that Bushra Bibi was right to take to the streets in a bid to get her husband released from jail. "The question arises, what did the rest of the leadership do? Where was the central leadership?" 

It should be noted that earlier Yousafzai had questioned the leadership of Barrister Gohar Khan and Salman Akram Raja as well.

He also asked where Sher Afzal Marwat and the leadership of Punjab were during the protest.

In a statement quoted by The News on Thursday, Yousafzai expressed his frustration, stating: "Gandapur has been made a scapegoat. [Imran] Khan had agreed to Sangjani, but Bushra's [Bibi] insistence on D-Chowk cost the party heavily."

"Will the party be led by Bushra Bibi or the leadership? If the leadership lacks authority, they should resign. The D-Chowk incident was deeply regrettable," he stated.

"The only ones standing with the workers were Gandapur, Asad Qaiser, Omar Ayub, Ali Asghar and some others," he said in a video message separately.

He further criticised the lack of planning, saying: "Even if we had sat at D-Chowk, there was no concrete plan in place. Why wasn't a consultative committee formed before leaving for Peshawar? Unfortunately, those leading the party did not lead the procession".

He said that another major criticism was directed at the protest's logistical shortcomings. Low turnout and insufficient facilities for participants, especially those who travelled from far-flung areas, contributed to the protest's failure. Several workers also expressed disappointment over the poor arrangements.

Gandapur was praised for bearing the pressure from the party and its workers, but Yousafzai pointed out that "the party needs to reflect on why the real faces were sidelined. Negotiations with the government were possible [but] who rejected them? The government should not have resorted to such brutality, but internal mismanagement is also to blame".

"There must be an inquiry into this matter as to why they took the party workers to D-Chowk and then left them alone at the mercy of law enforcement agencies and secretly disappeared from the scene," he said.

In a direct challenge to the PTI leadership, Yousafzai demanded accountability.

"If our leaders cannot face the situation or stand with the workers, they should step down. This is an injustice to PTI and Khan. Leadership is about action, not titles. Our failures in Islamabad are the result of poor planning and lack of unity," he said.

The former lawmaker further reiterated that the workers' loyalty was to the PTI founder and not individual leaders.

"We protested for Khan and his vision, not for anyone else. The leaders owe an explanation to the workers and must reflect on their mistakes. Without accountability and reform, we risk destroying PTI's credibility and Imran Khan's legacy," he warned.