• Barrister Saif reveals what transpired during late-night meetings at Adiala jail
• Sources say Bushra is asserting herself, putting CM Gandapur in a bind
• Ministers accuse former first lady of “hijacking” PTI’s decision-making, “orchestrating violence” by protesters

PESHAWAR: Physical and technological obstacles, coupled with the intransigence of former first lady Bushra Bibi, foiled last ditch efforts to peacefully resolve the issue of PTI’s protest march tow­ards Islamabad’s D-Chowk, credible sources familiar with behind-the-scenes efforts told Dawn.

The government also blames her for “sabotaging” the negotiations for an alternate protest venue and “orchestrating” violence by the party’s supporters.

Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif, the KP chief minister’s aide and spokesperson, confirmed that eff­orts had begun in earnest on Mon­day night to persuade the PTI leadership to stop short of Islamabad and divert to Sangjani — located on the outskirts of the capital.

He also confirmed that the party chairman had reluctantly agreed to pass on this message to KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur.

“Khan sahib was extremely agitated and annoyed at the treatment being meted out to him in his prison cell, but after a lot of discussions that also covered the Islam­abad High Court ruling, he reluctantly agreed to stop the march at the city limits,” he told Dawn.

“He (Imran) said he would leave it to party leaders to decide what to do, provided it led to solid negotiations with the government that would result in his release and the withdrawal of cases against him and other party leaders including Dr Yasmin Rashid and Mian Meh­mo­odur Rasheed and others.”

“We made a lot of efforts to find a peaceful way to resolve the issue. Both sides have toughened their positions. It has now entered into a critical and very sensitive phase. One wrong move and we will have a very serious situation at hand,” Saif said.

A source privy to these developments confided that there were a lot of intense efforts to broker a compromise.

“Efforts were made to arrange a telephone call between the jailed party chairman and Gandapur,” the source said, adding, “There were signal issues but the message was conveyed”.

“By the time efforts were made to re-establish contact with Ali Amin and others, the rally had already entered Islamabad. It was too late by then,” Barrister Saif told Dawn when asked about the sequence of events.

Bushra Bibi “was aggressive. She was defiant”, the source said, adding that she refused to listen to CM Gandapur, instead demanding that the party chairman speak to her directly through a video call, but this was not possible due to technical and other issues.

Originally, the sources said, Bushra Bibi was supposed to stay back in Peshawar, but the dynamics changed completely when she suddenly decided to hop on the truck and lead the protest herself.

“It made matters more complicated”, the source said, adding: “Workers were charged and they were no longer listening to Ali Amin.”

According to the insider, “[Bushra] is now calling the shots and [CM Gandapur] is playing second fiddle.”

The situation became more volatile when a vehicle mowed down Rangers personnel, the source said.

“There is literally an eye-ball-to-eye ball situation at D-Chowk”, the source said. “Ali Amin is under pressure. He is stuck between a rock and a hard place.”

This impression is lent credence by Bushra Bibi’s actions on Tuesday evening.

In a speech to charged protesters camped out a few kilometres from the high-security Red Zone, she urged them to move towards D-Chowk and extolled them to take Ali Amin Gandapur along with them.

While the federal government is nervously waiting for the protesters’ next move, party leaders are scrambling to figure out how to avoid the situation from further escalation, Barrister Saif said.

According to sources, the party is now “trying to figure out what the Plan-B is”.

Ministers blame Bushra

In back-to-back press conferences on Tuesday, federal ministers accu­sed the PTI of reneging on the agr­eement to hold their demonstration at Sangjani, on the outskirts of Isla­mabad and not enter the Red Zone.

“[T]here is a secret leadership controlling things in the background; the entire [frontline] leadership is [powerless] in front of them,” Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said, without naming Ms Bibi.

The PTI leadership wanted to talk, but “that one secret leader” sabotaged the process.

In another press conference later in the day with Information Minister Atta Tarar, Naqvi blamed “a woman” for the loss of life and property during the past two days.

Tarar said the former PM’s wife was trailing behind in the protest while “sending children and labourers to the front lines”, who he claimed were throwing tear gas at the police.

Imran’s tweet

Meanwhile, a post on Imran Khan’s official X (formerly Twit­­ter) account again triggered a debate about who was running his social media account during his incarceration.

In contrast to the claims put forward by Barrister Saif, the tweet from Khan’s account seemed to back Bushra Bibi’s initiative and urged people to reach D-Chowk.

“My message for my team is to fight until the last ball is bowled. We will not back down until our demands are met!”

The post also revealed that overseas Pakistanis have been funding for the march and Khan also thanked them for holding protests in different countries.

“My thanks go to overseas Pak­istanis around the globe, who are not only mobilising Pakistanis and contributing funds, but also holding historic protests in their respective countries,” the tweet said.

It also called on “those who ha­­ven’t yet joined the protest” to also head to D-Chowk. “All Pakistanis participating in the protest must remain peaceful, stay united, and stand firm until our demands are met,” the tweet said.

Iftikhar A. Khan and Ikram Junaidi in Islamabad also contributed to this report

Published in Dawn, November 27th, 2024