Historically, no public gathering, sit-in, rally, protest or long march of PTI was peaceful and orderly.
After 10 April 2022, the leaders, activists, workers and supporters of PTI egged on by Imran Khan became rowdy and violent and their tempo of emotionalism kept increasing and climaxed on 9 May 2023.
Till then, the party’s objectives were to force the govt to hold elections, change ECP and the army chief.
Thereon, the objectives were to continue defaming and discrediting the govt, institutions and the army through media, impede development works to fail the govt, seek support of western powers, maximise pressure through threats and aggressive gatherings, get NRO, get IK released, prevent constitutional amendments, recapture power.
IK was made to believe that his diehard fans in KP and in Punjab were fully geared up to go for the final kill and bring down all the power centres.
After holding botched up public rallies at Sangjani and Lahore, IK thought of staging a mega event bigger in scale and ferocity than 9 May.
For the achievement of this purpose, 4 Oct 2024 was chosen to hold protest at D Chowk.
It was planned to enter Isbd and capture D Chowk by use of force. A large number of govt vehicles, road machinery and funds were mobilised by CM KP Gandapur and the armed KP Police in civies were made part of the caravan led by him.
The militant Afghans from across the border and local Afghans living in Tarnol and Pindi areas, were paid money and equipped with petrol bottles and explosives to make petrol bombs, and burn down some buildings and vehicles.
The armed TTP militants and the youth from KP, Pindi, Isbd and some from other cities of Punjab were in the vanguard to act as the storm brigade. They were tasked to confront and fight the LEAs, heat up the situation to drag in the army, pit it against the people, provoke them and compel them to shoot to kill or injure.
A plan B was made to kill a few protesters with the help of snipers/kill squads positioned near the D Chowk, since IK was obsessed with the idea that few dead bodies would trigger Inqilab on the pattern of BD. He had also hoped for dead bodies on 9 May.
After seizing nodal points including D Chowk in Islamabad, it was planned to organise a prolonged sit-in to compel the govt to accept all the demands or force the army leadership to run to Adiala jail and patch up with IK on his terms.
It is assumed that IK instructed the PTI leadership to mobilize and prepare the people, but during the assault phase, lie low and to operate from behind the curtains to avoid arrests.
If so, this strategy backfired since absence of leaders from the scene angered the protesters, who went through the toil and were then arrested in big numbers, charged and put behind bars.
Wrong timings, low turnout, low presence of PTI leaders, and many slipping away to avoid arrests, Gandapur sneakily slipping out and leaving the workers high and dry, and stiff response by the LEAs turned the much hyped venture into a big fiasco.
Apart from registration of FiRs against many PTI leaders including two sisters of IK and activists, 138 Afghan nationals have been arrested. All of them confessed their crimes and disclosed who had enticed them to indulge in hooliganism.
No one can meet the jailed IK till 18 Oct and no court in Isbd can hear any petition to withdraw the Army and Rangers from Isbd till the termination of SCO Summit.
The revision of Article 63-A by the SC, and its ruling that the Electional Tribunals will be set up by EC and not by the courts is another big setback for the PTI. Unfortunate incident of suicide attack near Jinnah terminal in which one Chinese engineer lost his life and two were injured as forced the govt to further tighten the security measures.
The constitutional package prepared by the coalition govt has ripened and is expected to be passed with two-thirds majority in both the houses soon after the SCO Summit, or may be before.
These offensive steps taken by the govt and PTI’s missteps have created rifts within the rank and file of PTI and for the first time eyebrows have been raised against IK’s destructive policies.
It has flabbergasted interned IK, and in desperation he has appealed to the UN to intervene and block the creation of an intended constitutional court.
The coming days will be highly tense, and it is anyone’s guess whether the constitutional package will be passed by the two houses with two-thirds majority or not. Fate of the future of the Govt and the PTI is hanging in the balance.
