- Bushra Bibi’s spokesperson denies former first lady attended or chaired PTI’s political committee meeting
- Asserts Bushra Bibi reached D-Chowk as per Khan’s orders, but leadership was not there
ISLAMABAD: spokesperson for Bushra Bibi has said that the party founder would be the one to carry out accountability for the demonstration — that failed to achieve its objective of securing his release.
“She [Bushra] reached the D-Chowk as per Khan’s directions [whereas] party leadership wasn’t there […] whatever happened Khan sahib will hold [people] accountable,” said Mashal Yousafzai in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
The spokesperson further said that the former first lady neither attended nor chaired the party’s political committee meeting.
Yousafzai’s statement comes in the midst of the repercussions of the abrupt end to the party’s protest following a government crackdown against workers in the federal capital.
The protest, aimed at securing Khan’s release who has been behind bars for more than a year, is currently under scrutiny by the former ruling party over inter alia the decision to reach D-Chowk in Islamabad as opposed to holding a rally at Sangjani.
Bushra and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur are facing strong criticism for their decision to push forward with the protest at D-Chowk.
Contradicting statements from party leaders regarding the former prime minister’s directions regarding the protest have added to the ambiguity as Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif has claimed that Khan was initially agreeable to holding a rally at Sangjani but Bushra opposed the idea.
Whereas, PTI leader Sher Afzal Marwat has said that the PTI founder was not willing to accept the government’s Sangjani offer.
The aftershocks of the protest, which culminated with nearly 1,000 supporters being arrested by authorities, have not only led to calls for an internal inquiry but have also led to party’s secretary general Salman Akram Raja and Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) Chairman Sahibzada Hamid Raza’s resignation — with the latter quitting from the PTI’s political and core committees.
Apart from the internal turmoil, the former ruling party now also faces external challenges including a ban as well as governor’s rule in the KP.
A day earlier, a resolution was passed by the Balochistan Assembly for carrying out violent actions and acting on an “anarchist agenda”.
A similar resolution has been submitted to the Punjab Assembly Secretariat by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader and Member of the Provincial Assembly (MPA) Rana Muhammad Fayyaz which calls for stringent action against PTI, labelling it a “disruptive group” operating under the guise of a political party.
Furthermore, the party also risk losing its provincial government in the KP as the federal government is mulling imposing governor’s rule in the province.
Adviser to Prime Minister on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah, while speaking on Geo News’ programme “Capital Talk” on Thursday said that the matter has come under discussion before the federal cabinet but no consensus has been reached yet.
“Opinions were divided on the issue. However, the members decided to further deliberate on the matter,” said the PML-N leader.
