As the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) navigates mounting challenges in the aftermath of the Islamabad protest, the party is now embroiled in internal disputes and external threats.
Bushra Bibi’s spokesperson, Mashal Yousafzai, has said that the PTI founder, Imran Khan, will hold individuals accountable for the protest, which failed to achieve its goal 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,” Yousafzai stated on X, formerly known as Twitter. She also clarified that Bushra Bibi neither attended nor chaired the party’s political committee meeting.
The protest, aimed at pressuring authorities for Khan’s release after more than a year of imprisonment, ended abruptly following a government crackdown in Islamabad, which saw nearly 1,000 PTI supporters arrested. The aftermath has spurred internal calls for accountability and led to significant resignations, including Secretary General Salman Akram Raja and Sunni Ittehad Council Chairman Sahibzada Hamid Raza stepping down from party roles.
Bushra Bibi, along with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, has come under fire for allegedly deciding to proceed with the demonstration at D-Chowk rather than accepting the government’s proposal to hold a rally at Sangjani. Contradictory claims from party leaders about Khan’s stance on the venue decision have deepened the crisis. Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif stated that Khan initially agreed to Sangjani, but Bushra opposed the idea. On the other hand, PTI leader Sher Afzal Marwat argued that Khan rejected the Sangjani offer outright.
The protest’s repercussions are not limited to internal discord. The federal government is considering imposing governor’s rule in KP, adding to the PTI’s woes. Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs, Rana Sanaullah, revealed during an interview with private news channel that the matter was under deliberation in the federal cabinet but lacked consensus.
Meanwhile, resolutions condemning PTI’s actions have been tabled in provincial assemblies. The Balochistan Assembly passed a resolution accusing PTI of pursuing an “anarchist agenda,” while PML-N leader Rana Muhammad Fayyaz submitted a similar motion in the Punjab Assembly, urging stringent measures against the party.
With both internal resignations and external pressures mounting, PTI faces a precarious future as it struggles to contain the fallout of the failed protest and Imran Khan’s continued incarceration.
