Bushra to critics: I'm not a quitter

PESHAWAR:

In her first public appearance since the botched protest in the D-Chowk of Islamabad, Bushra Bibi, wife of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan, issued a stern warning on Friday against those accusing her of abandoning the party workers.

During her visit to Charsadda to offer condolences to the family of a deceased individual—whom the party claimed died during a security forces crackdown on protesters in Islamabad on November 26—she said:

"I do not understand why people were lying? I am not a woman who runs away. I'm not a quitter. I was not going to flee; my car came under direct fire," Bibi said in a brief conversation with reporters.

She said that all the top leaders of the party were absent from the D-Chowk and that she was left alone with the workers. "Now they are giving statements in the media [that I abandoned the workers]. Action will be taken against them," she added.

Since the forces broke up the PTI protest in Islamabad, Bibi – who was leading the party workers from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) along with Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur – faced criticism that she fled from the venue, leaving the protesters on their own.

The critics, including top party leaders notably absent from the protest march, faced sharp rebuke as she broke her silence on the matter. Expressing her anger, she called for strict action against such leaders.

In her media talk, Bushra Bibi shared her account of the events, stating, "I was alone in my car at D-Chowk at 12:30 a.m. when they [security forces] were forcibly clearing the area. I did not leave because [Imran] Khan had asked me not to."

I told everyone not to leave me alone, but I was alone there, everyone had left me," she said. "I could not leave those who had come out for Khan. But no one knew which car I was in," she added.

According to Bibi, many people, including those who were vacating the road to the D-Chowk, witnessed that she was at the venue till late. "When I did not leave, my car was directly fired upon," she alleged.

She commended the protesters who responded to PTI's 'final call,' stating, "Pathans have always shown pride. Party workers were martyred in the name of Khan, and I am deeply pained by these deaths."

Bibi said that she had come to offer her condolences on the instructions of Imran. On this occasion, she presented a cheque of Rs10 million to the heirs of Tajuddin, who had died during the protest march.

On November 13, the PTI gave its 'final call' for protest to press for its four demands, including release of Imran and others and reversal of the 26th Constitutional Amendment.

The protest started on November 24 from Peshawar, led by Bibi and Gandapur. While overcoming roadblocks and clashes with Punjab police, they reached Islamabad on November 26 and briefly surged to the D-Chowk in the Red Zone of the capital.

The protesters, however, dispersed after the security forces launched a massive crackdown against them in the evening. By early morning of November 27, the area was cleared of the protesters and both Bib and Gandapur had returned to Peshawar.

Sources here said that Bibi was very upset with all those party leaders, who were accusing her of leaving the workers behind in D-Chowk and fleeing. They said that Bibi was present at the D-Chowk, but her accusers were absent.

Now she wants strictest party action against those who did not show up in the protest. In this regard, she would apprise Imran about the factual situation and get his assent to the action against those party leaders.

Bibi believed, according to the sources, those who disappeared from the protest not only disappointed the workers but also tried to demoralise them. Bibi Spokesperson Mashal Yousafzai was contacted repeatedly for comments but no reply was received.