PTI rally in Tarnol postponed under ‘questionable circumstances’

• Gandapur announces energy show to take place on September 8
• Aleema claims Imran was ‘kept in the dark’ about postponement
• Party members express dissatisfaction with the decision
• Sher Afzal Marwat “released after brief detention”

ISLAMABAD/PESHAWAR: PTI’s decision to postpone its August 22 rally in Tarnol at the last minute has sparked controversy within the party, with some leaders claiming that party founder Imran Khan, who is lodged in Adiala Jail, was not consulted before the postponement.

Although PTI chief Gohar Ali Khan and Azam Swati claimed on Thursday that the decision to postpone the rally was taken by the founder, many party members – including Mr Khan’s sister – did not believe it.

At a press conference outside Adiala Jail, the two leaders said they had reached the site to meet Mr Khan early in the morning. They claimed the PTI founder had told them that the rally scheduled for Thursday should be postponed out of respect for the protests to ensure the sanctity of Khatm-i-Nabuwwat (PBUH), which were also scheduled to be held on the same day.

Similarly, KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur also claimed that the electric show was cancelled on the orders of the PTI founder, adding that the rally would now take place on September 8.

However, a senior PTI leader told Dawn that the decision to postpone the Tarnol rally was taken at a meeting of the party leadership in Peshawar on Wednesday evening, which was held after a no-objection certificate for the rally was cancelled by the federal government.

“Party leaders met the KP chief minister at CM House on Wednesday evening. They decided not to hold the meeting in the absence of official permission,” inside sources said.

KP government spokesman Barrister Mohammad Ali Saif confirmed that a meeting was held to take stock of the situation following the cancellation of the permit.

However, this sudden decision raised eyebrows and demonstrated a lack of coordination within the party as well as a deficit of trust between the different leaders.

An audio recording purported to be that of Aleema Khan has reinforced this impression. In the clip, aired by several television channels on Thursday, she can be heard saying that the power show has been postponed without letting Imran Khan in on the secret.

She said it was a decision by “certain party leaders”, whom she accused of working for the establishment.

In the clip, the voice allegedly belonging to Aleema Khan is also heard asking, “Who asked Azam Swati to meet Imran Khan early in the morning and who asked her to postpone the meeting?”

She wondered how the couple had managed to meet her brother so early in the morning, before business hours began.

Interestingly, Mahmood Khan Achkzai, who heads the PTI-led opposition alliance, had no idea about the postponement of the event, as he arrived at the venue along with other leaders at 4 pm, only to find that the PTI leaders were not present.

After the rally was postponed, hundreds of PTI workers, who had left their respective areas for Islamabad, also started returning.

A video circulating on social media shows KP Gandapur CM, who addressed the accused PTI workers in Swabi, distributing money to party supporters.

Meanwhile, party activists and leaders in Swabia have expressed their dissatisfaction with the decision to postpone the rally,

The protesters said the delay indicated the PTI’s “weakness” and its inability to hold a rally in Islamabad. They also criticised the party leadership for repeatedly postponing the show of strength. PTI supporters blocked the Peshawar-Islamabad highway for some time after it emerged that party chief Sher Afzal Marwat had been arrested by the police. He was, however, later released.

Published in Dawn, August 23, 2024