SWABI: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf workers were left high and dry after key leaders sneaked away during a demonstration staged at the Karnal Sher Khan Chowk in the district headquarters here on August 5 to protest conviction of their party chief Imran Khan in the Toshakhana case, leaving them behind to face the police baton charge, sources in the PTI told Dawn here on Wednesday.

They said the key party leaders had given a call for the protest despite imposition of the Section 144 by the district administration, and when workers reached the protest venue they found their leaders absent.

The sources said former MPAs Aqibullah Khan, Rangaiz Khan and Swabi mayor Attaullah led the protesters up to the new tehsil building on the Swabi-Topi Road, but later they got disappeared. However, the workers continued to march towards Karnal Sher Khan Chowk, where they were baton charged by the police. Scores of them were also arrested for violating the Section 144.

Mr Aqibullah, Mr Attaullah and Mr Rangaiz left the protesters at the tehsil building, and rushed to their homes or some other places, leaving the workers alone to face the police baton charge, a worker, who participated in the protest, told Dawn on condition of anonymity.

The sources said in future, the workers might not give importance to their leaders’ call for protests. They said former National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser, who was somewhere in Islamabad, should have come to Swabi and lead the workers from the front instead of just issuing statements from there to keep the workers ‘motivated’.

Similarly, the sources said there was no trace of former education minister Shahram Khan Tarakai, and his uncle and former MPA Mohammad Ali Tarakai.

They said PTI workers were highly perturbed over the continuous absence of their leaders from their midst. They said the events of past few days had amply proved that key party leaders were only releasing statements and messages from unknown locations, but not coming out to lead the workers from the front.

This correspondent tried to contact these leaders on their phones to get their version, but their mobiles were either switched off or they didn’t attend calls.

Published in Dawn, August 10th, 2023