Ummat Report:
Tehreek-e-Insaf fears a major crackdown after Eid. Failed rallies from the top have added to his frustration. However, the situation after the six judges’ letter has given PTI a lot of pressure and it feels that the government and the ruling elite have taken a back foot due to this issue. So the big action he fears from the government after Eid can be minimized if the cards are played correctly.
Ummah sources in PTI’s Islamabad Secretariat said that most of the leaders who came to the central office were expressing their fear that after Eid, the party plans to launch a major crackdown against the government. . While on the legal front too, under the cases of May 9, the punishments will be accelerated and more arrests will be made.
According to the sources, every other leader who came to the PTI Secretariat was hearing the same that he was expressing these concerns based on his own information. Amidst these whispers, the party started a series of rallies in the name of election rigging. So that workers can be mobilized to deal with a new crackdown. However, these rallies continued to fail, adding to the frustration. Sources admitted that party workers and supporters are currently unwilling to step out due to fear. Because the effects of the crackdown after May 9 are still there.
It should be noted that before the February 8 elections, Imran Khan had called for his candidates to hold rallies in the respective constituencies across the country, but the police arrested PTI workers in other cities of the country, including Karachi. The party failed to pull off impressive rallies. Then after the general elections, the PTI tried to launch a series of rallies against rigging, which have so far failed miserably.
According to sources, workers and supporters voted for PTI, but they are not ready to be beaten. A few days ago, a public show in PTI’s stronghold Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where it has its own government, also turned into chaos. However, compared to other parts of the country, PTI was able to evict some people by using the administrative machinery here. However, activists did not heed the call for a protest rally in Lahore, where a few people had turned out in groups in the previous rally, which were dispersed by the police in a short time.
The series of unsuccessful rallies continued. In such a situation, PTI announced a rally on March 23. But they didn’t have the courage to hold a meeting and this public gathering was quietly postponed. The new date of the meeting was fixed on March 30. When the government refused to allow the rally, the PTI went to court. Thus he got the permission to hold the meeting but still PTI was unable to hold the meeting and the meeting was postponed without giving any reason. Now it is being said that this meeting will be held on April 6. But it doesn’t seem likely.
In fact, PTI is afraid of people not coming to the rally and government crackdown. This fear is causing the Jalsa to be postponed again and again. Surrounded by this desperate situation, the PTI is afraid of the big action of the government after Eid from above. In such a situation, the letter of six judges of the High Court came to light, which PTI is considering as a ray of hope for itself and has decided to play with this issue.
According to PTI, the situation after this letter has put the government and the establishment on the back foot. So, by keeping the issue hot and playing the fiddle of rigging, she wants to keep the pressure on the government. While after Eid, a strategy has been developed to further increase this pressure, so as to counter the possible crackdown. To make this strategy workable, PTI has also brought together other election-affected parties.
It has been announced that a joint protest movement will be launched to give tough time to the government. However, it is clear that PTI is forming this Grand Alliance to save skin, which is apparently a clone of PDM. But most of the parties in this 6-member alliance won’t get more than one or two seats at the centre. The alliance will be headed by Mehmood Achakzai, who used to ridicule Imran Khan in his rallies.
The six-member alliance includes Tehreek-e-Insaf, Pashtun-Khwa Milli Awami Party, BNP (Mengal), Jamaat-e-Islami, Sunni Ittehad Council and Majlis Wahdat al-Muslimeen. Interestingly, Tehreek-e-Insaf is currently integrated into the Sunni Ittehad Council. But in the alliance it is kept as a separate party. Technically, it is a five-member alliance. A consultative meeting was held in Islamabad on Tuesday hosted by Majlis Wahdat al-Muslimeen. In which Mehmood Khan Achakzai, Akhtar Mengal, Liaquat Baloch, Sahibzada Muhammad Raza, Allama Raja Nasir Abbas and Barrister Gohar Ali among others participated.
In the meeting, the basic principles of complete restoration of the constitution, complete restoration of democracy through free and fair elections, independence of judiciary and civil supremacy were agreed upon. It was also said in the meeting that joint struggle is needed to achieve these goals. It is noteworthy that the consultative meeting did not include Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, which has separately scheduled its protest movement over the alleged election rigging. However, it is heard that Tehreek-e-Insaaf is also trying to include Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam in its alliance and it is possible that contact will be made soon in this regard. It is to be seen whether Maulana Fazlur Rahman’s JUI is a part of this alliance or not.