• Gandapur says power show to be held on Sept 8
• Aleema claims Imran ‘kept in dark’ about postponement
• Party workers voice dissatisfaction over the decision
• Sher Afzal Marwat ‘released after brief detention’

ISLAMABAD / PESHAWAR: A decision by the PTI to postpone its Aug 22 gathering in Tarnol at the eleventh hour stirred controversy within the party, as some leaders claimed that party founder Imran Khan, who is incarcerated in Adiala jail, was not consulted before the postponement.

Although PTI leader Gohar Ali Khan and Azam Swati claimed on Thursday that the decision to postpone the gathering had been taken by the founder, many in the party — including Mr Khan’s sister — did not buy this.

At a press talk outside Adiala jail, the two leaders said that they had arrived there to meet Mr Khan first thing in the morning. They claimed the PTI founder told them that the rally scheduled for Thursday should be postponed, in deference to demonstrations to ensure the sanctity of Khatm-i-Nabuwwat (PBUH), which were also sla­ted to be held on the same day.

Similarly, KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur also clai­med that the power show was cancelled on PTI fou­nder’s order, adding the gathering would now be held on Sept 8.

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

“The party leadership met KP chief minister at the CM House on Wednesday night. They decided not to hold the gathering in absence of official permission,” insiders claimed.

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

However, the abrupt decision raised many an eyebrow and showed there was a lack of coordination within the party as well as a trust deficit between various leaders.

An audio recording, purportedly of Aleema Khan, added fuel to this impression. In the clip, broadcast by several TV channels on Thursday she can be heard saying the power show was postponed without taking Imran Khan into confidence.

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

In the clip, the voice that purportedly belongs to Aleema Khan can also be heard asking: “Who inst­ructed Azam Swati to meet Imran Khan early in the morning and who instru­c­ted him to postpone the meeting?”

She questioned how the pair was able to meet her brother so early in the morning, before business hours commenced.

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 with other leaders at 4pm, only to find that the PTI leadership was not present.

After the rally was postponed, hundreds of PTI workers, who had left their respective areas for Islamabad, also began making their way back.

A video making rounds on social media showed KP CM Gandapur, who addressed char­­ged PTI workers in Swabi, distributing money among party supporters.

Meanwhile, party workers and leaders in Swabi voiced their discontent with the decision to postpone the rally,

saying the delay indicated PTI’s “weakness” and failure to hold a gathering in Islam­abad. They also criticised the party leadership for repeatedly postponing the power show. Spme PTI supporters blocked the Peshawar-Islam­abad Motor­way for some time, after it emerged that party firebrand leader Sher Afzal Marwat had been deta­ined by police. However, he was subsequently released.

Published in Dawn, August 23rd, 2024