ISLAMABAD : A fresh audio clip featuring Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Ali Muhammad Khan has come to the fore, hinting at widening rifts within the party leadership after its “do-or-die” protest fiasco in the federal capital.
The audio was leaked days after PTI abruptly postponed its march following a government crackdown on protesters attempting to reach D-Chowk, sparking widespread condemnation within the former ruling party. Questions are emerging within the PTI parliamentary leadership about why supporters were instructed to go to D-Chowk instead of staging a sit-in in Sangjani, as the former prime minister had ordered.
In the audio, which Ali confirmed was his during the PTI leader claimed that party founder Imran Khan had ordered the leaders to set up a protest camp in Islamabad’s Sangjani area, not at D-Chowk in the Red Zone.
“The PTI founder had not asked to come to D-Chowk, but to Islamabad. Khan Sahib had said that the final sit-in location would be confirmed after the party members reached Islamabad,” said Ali in the audio leak.
The senior PTI leader, in the audio leak, questioned who ordered [the party workers] to go to D-Chowk when Khans’ instructions were clear. “The PTI founder had said this in the presence of Barrister Gohar, Faisal Chaudhry, and others,” he added.
Raising questions over the role of Khan’s sister, Aleema Khan, Ali asked: why the latter made the call instead of the party chairman Gohar.