THE rank and file of the PTI are becoming increasingly disillusioned with the current party leadership, accusing them of becoming complacent in their efforts to secure the release of party founder Imran Khan, whose absence has led to a major power vacuum within the party.

The resulting intra-party struggles seem to have formed two power centres within the party, with Imran’s sister Aleema Khan on one side and his wife Bushra Bibi, who was recently released from jail, on the other.

As this power struggle takes a toll on the PTI’s rank and file, a senior leader on the condition of anonymity pointed out that the party was being pushed to its limits amid a near two-year crackdown.

Imran Khan has “limited choices” when it comes to revamping the hierarchy, with some old stalwarts — such as Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Yasmin Rashid among others — being in jail and others — such as Murad Saeed and Hammad Azhar etc — forced into hiding.

Bushra-Aleema ‘rift’ takes centre stage as workers grow disillusioned with incumbent leadership

Dawn reached out to several PTI leaders at the regional, provincial and national levels to ascertain the mood in the party. Many believed that Mr Khan’s directives were not being implemented, at the cost of ceding political space to the ruling parties.

This was evident in the recent brouhaha over the 26th amendment, where the ruling coalition made efforts to win the party’s support through Maulana Fazlur Rehman. But the PTI’s negotiating posture was clouded by mixed signals.

The likes of Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and Asad Qaiser seemed to be favouring continued engagement with the government, but other elements in the party — especially those who are currently based abroad — coming down hard on the local leadership for their apparent ‘surrender’.

“We should not have even given names for the parliamentary committee to select the next chief justice of Pakistan, because the ‘fake government’ merely wanted PTI’s endorsement,” said PTI Punjab Information Secretary Shaukat Basra.

However, observers believe that by boycotting this committee and not fully participating in the voting process in the two houses of parliament, the party had not put up an effective opposition and failed to bring their protest on the parliamentary record.

The fact that in the wake of the amendment’s passage, the party has nominated Shibli Faraz and Omar Ayub to the reconstituted Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) shows that there were second thoughts among the leadership on the matter.

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“Mr Khan wants the party to be mobilised and people at large to remain engaged, but the leaders themselves have become complacent and are enjoying their positions as party leaders or elected representatives in assemblies,” PTI Central Punjab Additional General Secretary Sardar Azeemullah Khan told Dawn.

“The link between Mr Khan and the public has been broken,” he said, adding that those leading the protests on the ground wanted a say in the decision-making process, as the ‘clicktivism’ being practiced by incumbent leaders would not suffice.

Another PTI loyalist questioned the absence of party leaders from the ground at the time of the D-Chowk protest in Islamabad, in the first week of October.

“There was no one to lead,” a party leader in central Punjab said, adding that party bigwigs had distanced themselves from the struggle, leaving Imran Khan and others in a lurch.

These are the sentiments that have riled up many young party workers, who believe that protests are the only option to secure their leader’s freedom.

Senior lawyer Salman Akram Raja, a relatively new face who recently replaced Omar Ayub as the party’s secretary general, has also expressed his resentment about party leaders’ decision to stay away from protests.

“Why would people come out on streets and face fascism if their leaders are staying away,” he was quoted as saying by party insiders. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur had also called such people ‘traitors’ to the PTI’s cause.

“The men in positions (of power) are so shameless that they don’t even go to attend Imran Khan’s cases in courts,” another leader observed, claiming that a “change of hierarchy in the party is on the cards” in light of recent developments.

When Dawn asked Mr Basra about the resentment within the party ranks, he blamed the chaos on changing political dynamics, claiming that the party was doing its best to resist the “fake government and powers that be” through its street power.

He claimed Mr Khan had personally asked party leaders such as Murad Saeed, Mian Aslam Iqbal and Hammad Azhar to stay off the grid to avoid arrest, adding that when the PTI founder asked Mr Azhar to come out, he had participated in various protests and conventions.

Bushra-Aleema rift

Mr Basra believes that with Bushra Bibi out of jail, workers were mustering up energy to launch another wave of protests. The party is planning that its “next protest call in November will be so powerful that the whole of Pakistan will be out in the streets”, he claimed.

Though Bushra Bibi can provide an impetus for such protests, the reported rift between Aleema and the former first lady could hurt the party’s chances of coming up with a coherent strategy.

The active involvement of Aleema Khan in the party affairs and her criticism of senior party leaders has rubbed many leaders the wrong way.

Aleema Khan, who met Mr Khan on Wednesday for the third time in as many days, ruffled some feathers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after she chided Azam Swati over Tarnol protest, which was cancelled at the last minute. In recent audio leaks, she was purportedly heard saying that Bushra Bibi wanted to take over the party.

Some within the party fear that Aleema is gunning for “absolute control” and wants to keep Bushra Bibi at bay. This impression is lent credence by some of her recent statements.

But despite the wrangling and setbacks, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja appears hopeful about the possibility of Imran Khan being released from prison.

Mr Khan will be “among the people” in November or December, he claimed. However, he is also pinning his hopes on a massive outpouring of public support, saying: “A few thousand people’s protest will not suffice… [we will need] close to half a million people”.

Published in Dawn, October 31st, 2024