By Staff Reporter
LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the party founded by imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan, kicked off a nationwide anti-government campaign on Saturday, with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur arriving in Lahore to rally supporters and strategise the movement’s next steps.
The campaign, set to peak on August 5, marking two years since Khan’s incarceration, unfolds against a backdrop of legal challenges, political repression, and escalating tensions with the coalition government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif
Gandapur, leading a convoy of PTI lawmakers into Lahore, underscored the city’s historical significance as a launchpad for political movements. “Political drives starting from the city have historically resonated nationwide,” Gandapur said, addressing a key consultative session at a farmhouse in Lahore’s Raiwind area. “We will take practical steps after consultation to move forward.”
The chief minister emphasised the campaign’s timeline. “We must think about how to take it to its peak by August 5,” aligning with Khan’s directive to intensify the protest on the two-year anniversary of his imprisonment.
The launch follows a Supreme Court ruling on June 27 that declared PTI ineligible for reserved seats in national and provincial assemblies, a decision that has left the opposition alliance in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa just 20 members short of a simple majority. The verdict has fueled PTI’s narrative of systemic exclusion, amplifying its call for nationwide mobilisation.
In his Raiwind address, Gandapur took aim at Maulana Fazlur Rehman, leader of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), who had criticised PTI’s governance in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Gandapur alleged that only one MNA and two MPAs from JUI-F were elected on merit, claiming the rest secured victories through alleged manipulation of Form 47, an electoral document.
“Maulana Fazl himself holds a fake mandate,” Gandapur charged, questioning Rehman’s authority to weigh in on PTI affairs. “The public has rejected Maulana Fazl,” he added, advising the JUI-F chief to “focus on bringing a change within his own party rather than in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.”
Rehman, speaking earlier Saturday, had suggested that any change in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa should come from within PTI, emphasising that his party would consult internally before acting. “The province cannot afford further political instability,” he cautioned.
Gandapur also turned his criticism toward the Punjab government, led by Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, daughter of former prime minister and ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Mian Nawaz Sharif. “I would appreciate the Punjab government only when I am allowed to hold a public gathering in Lahore by my constitutional rights,” Gandapur said.
He denounced the suspension of 26 PTI lawmakers from the Punjab Assembly last month as “illegal,” warning that continued actions against his party could prompt retaliation, such as removing opposition committee chairmen in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The convoy’s arrival at Shahdara Morr in Lahore was met with a heavy Punjab police presence, signaling the government’s unease with PTI’s growing momentum. Four party workers, including Lahore ticket-holder Engineer Yasir Gilani, were briefly arrested, PTI officials said, though they were later released. The detentions, which PTI leaders decried as political intimidation, forced the cancellation of a planned media interaction due to security concerns.
Before departing for Lahore, Gandapur framed the convoy as a peaceful stand against such tactics. “This is not a protest in the conventional sense, but a democratic show of unity,” he told supporters, highlighting solidarity with the suspended Punjab lawmakers. “We bring with us a message of peace, brotherhood, and constitutional respect.” He stressed that his government had informed Punjab authorities of the convoy’s itinerary, accusing them of using “unconstitutional and undemocratic tactics” to silence PTI voices.
Punjab Assembly Opposition Leader Malik Ahmad Khan Bhachar echoed this sentiment in a video message, calling the convoy a “symbolic awakening” of Punjab. “The people of Lahore are on the streets, ready to welcome their leaders,” he said. “The government’s use of force to suppress this peaceful show of solidarity is unacceptable, even in dictatorships.”
Despite his imprisonment, Khan remains the driving force behind PTI’s campaign. His sister, Aleema Khan, announced days earlier that the former prime minister would “lead the protest from jail,” though she declined to share specifics. “Our family knows about the protest plan,” she said, adding that details would be revealed “at an appropriate time.”
She quoted Khan as saying, “I am free in prison while they are imprisoned outside,” a jab at party leaders navigating constraints imposed by the government. Aleema also relayed Khan’s resolve: “Those unable to carry the burden of the political movement should step aside.” She confirmed that Khan’s entire family would join the upcoming protests, with the route, potentially from Peshawar to Lahore, to be finalised by the party.
PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar emphasized Khan’s centrality to the campaign, noting that “any significant announcement related to the protest” would come directly from the founder. “The purpose of the Lahore visit was to meet with party members and strategize within the boundaries of law,” Gohar said, distancing PTI from accusations of fomenting unrest.
According to PTI spokesperson Sheikh Waqas Akram, the campaign will begin with demonstrations across provinces and districts, with Gandapur tasked with leading the charge. Addressing concerns over the chief minister’s earlier remarks about carrying weapons to protests, Akram clarified, “What the chief minister meant was that everybody has the right to self-defence.”
The Raiwind meetings, attended by PTI parliamentarians, focused on protest strategies and legislative responses to the Punjab Assembly suspensions, which followed protests during Chief Minister Nawaz’s June 27 address. Since then, hundreds of PTI supporters and activists have reportedly been arrested or charged, a crackdown the party cites as evidence of political repression under Nawaz’s government.
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