‘Jail Bharo Tehreek’ halts PTI-US rapprochement

US awaits economic revival plan as PTI busy filling prisons

ISLAMABAD:

As the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leaders are busy forcing themselves into prison vans to be detained en masse under the “Jail Bharo Tehreek” (court-arrest movement), the party appears to fail by the wayside with regard to sharing its economic recovery plan with the United States.

Sources privy to the development said that the Imran Khan-led party has yet to craft an economic blueprint and put it forth for consideration as its ongoing drive to volunteer for arrests takes the front seat, seemingly pouring cold water on the idea.

Earlier this month, officials of the Biden administration had asked the PTI leadership to share its economic revival plan as well as its stance on the understanding reached between the PDM-led government and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

In a meeting with party’s senior vice president Fawad Chaudhry, a US delegation led by US Department of State Counsellor Derek Chollet had asked the PTI, being the former ruling party as well as one of the largest political forces, to share what solutions the party had to address the country’s economic woes if they return to power after the elections.

Read more: PTI kicks off ‘Jail Bharo’ drive

Amid an ongoing financial crunch coupled with political instability, the US delegation had also asked PTI to share its stance on the government-IMF understanding, especially, when the ruling alliance accuses it of deviating from the plan which it had signed with IMF during its tenure.

The meeting and the subsequent questions from the Biden administration had come after PTI leadership tried to restore relations with Washington by assuring that it has not only moved on from the anti-US narrative but would also abandon it in the future.

The assurance itself was given after PTI chief Imran Khan recently told the Voice of America that new information had surfaced and he was convinced that there was no foreign power which conspired to overthrow his government but his own army chief had urged Washington that Imran needed to go.

Following the meeting with the US delegation, sources familiar with the developments said that the party hasn’t yet shared its economic strategy with the US officials as it was currently focusing on the Jail Bharo Tehreek and trying to convert it into a country-wide movement to exert pressure on the government for snap polls.

With several top leaders, including Asad Umar and Shah Mehmood Qureshi, already in jail and others gearing up to go behind the bars, they said, things would move ahead when they come out of the prisons. In the absence of the former financial czar Shaukat Tareen, the sources said that the party would wait for Asad Umar’s release and then finalise things.

After the Fawad-Chollet meeting, the sources had revealed that a meeting was expected between the US officials and the PTI’s economic team in the coming days to discuss the matters further. Following the meeting with the economic team, they had maintained, a meeting could also take place between the US officials and PTI chief Imran.

However, they said, things have suddenly changed with the court arrest movement and neither any economic plan could be shared nor any follow-up meeting could take place. Nonetheless, the PTI leaders said that the economic plan would soon be finalised and shared with the US officials.

The US-PTI meet-up was held against the backdrop of PTI’s behind-the-scene efforts to repair ties with Washington as the former ruling party has not only abandoned its anti-US narrative but verbally discussed its future plans to pull the country out of the economic abyss with the world’s superpower.

The details about the meeting had emerged after Fawad revealed on Twitter that he held a meeting with the US officials and discussed issues ranging from politics to human rights violations in Pakistan. In the tweet, Fawad had stated that he had a “good meeting with the US ambassador and senior officials”.

“The political situation and the PTI position on various issues came under discussion,” Fawad had stated, adding that such meetings were part of a “mutual desire” for relationships based on equality and the well-being of people.

In the recent past, Imran not only showed a departure from his usual stance against the US but repeatedly conveyed through his interviews that he desired to restore relations with Washington despite accusing it of treating Islamabad as a “slave”.

On the alleged conspiracy being backed by the US, Imran frequently maintained that he no longer blamed the US and wanted a “dignified” relationship if re-elected, saying: “As far as I’m concerned, it’s over, it’s behind me.”

After the US, Imran is now accusing Gen Bajwa of exercising sweeping powers in most matters of governance, saying the PTI was left to take all the blame.