South Punjab PTI workers show signs of distress to join Islamabad protest

MULTAN: Pakistan Tehreek Insaf (PTI) has announced the Islamabad protest on November 24 and a day or two are left but neither the party has started registration of workers nor camps have been established to enrol them for the rally.

The PTI city, district or divisional party chapters did not hold a single party meeting for political activity. The PTI workers widely criticized party MNAs and MPAs elected on party ticket in the last general election but they are completely isolated from the rest of the party. The workers expressed disappointment over the responses of elected representatives.

Five MPAs elected from Multan in the last general election were tasked by the PTI to mobilise 5000 workers each for a rally in Islamabad. PTI workers have expressed scepticism about the feasibility of this directive, given the current situation. They question how 25,000 workers can be effectively mobilised and managed while adhering to party objectives.

The logistical challenges are significant, with transportation alone estimated to cost around Rs 1 billion. Bus owners in Multan have quoted Rs 100,000 to Rs 125,000 per bus for the Multan-Islamabad, excluding meal and accommodation expenses. Each MPA would require approximately 100 buses to transport 5000 workers, necessitating a budget of Rs 10 million.

PTI workers criticize the party leadership for underestimating the scale and complexity of the task, highlighting the impracticality of the given directive.

The task of 5000 party workers by each MPA is enough to sabotage the Islamabad rally, they said. The PTI workers observed it is a herculean task to force 5000 people to join the rally for Islamabad. Five PTI MPAs elected from Multan include Adnan Dogar, Ayaz Ahmed, Moenuddin Qureshi, Nadeem Qureshi and Nawabzada Wasim Khan Badozai. They joined the Sunni Ittehad Council later. Attempts were made to contact all five MPAs, but not a single MPA attended his phone.