PTI shifts mobilisation to the south

K-P CM's scheduled to visit Karachi on Jan 9 as party builds momentum toward Feb 8 protest

ISLAMABAD/LAHORE:

After spending three days in Lahore, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi is now set to travel to Sindh as Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) intensifies preparations for its planned February 8 protest.

The visits are being carried out on the instructions of the incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan, who has tasked the young K-P chief minister with mobilising the public ahead of a major power show marking the second anniversary of the parliamentary elections next month.

Afridi's Lahore visit, the political powerhouse of the country, generated controversy, with the K-P chief minister formally lodging a complaint with his Punjab counterpart over what he alleged was inappropriate treatment during the tour.

On Friday, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja travelled to Karachi to organise and oversee preparations for Afridi's upcoming visit. Sharing details on his X account, Akram confirmed that he spent two busy days in the city coordinating arrangements.

He praised PTI's Sindh organisation for completing what he described as impressive organisational work at the union council and block levels.

Separately, PTI's Sindh provincial president also confirmed Afridi's visit from January 9 to 11, with engagements planned primarily in Karachi and Hyderabad.

According to the Sindh leadership, the visit will include public engagement activities, meetings with intellectuals, media representatives and lawyers, as well as a visit to Mazar-e-Quaid. Preparations, he said in a post on X, were underway for a grand welcome across Sindh during the three-day tour.

The Sindh visit forms part of PTI's countrywide street movement announced by Imran Khan following his and his wife's sentencing to 17 years in prison in the Toshakhana-II case.

Imran Khan has assigned the responsibility of leading the movement to Afridi, tasking him with mobilising the youth and conveying his message across provinces.

In the first leg of the mobilisation drive, Afridi spent three days in Lahore starting December 26, during which he visited Kot Lakhpat Jail to meet incarcerated PTI leaders. He also attempted to address supporters at Liberty Chowk, but was unable to do so after a heavy police contingent blocked all roads leading to the area by erecting pickets.

The visit was further marred by arguments between members of Afridi's staff and security officials, while several heated exchanges between PTI leaders and journalists were also witnessed.

Afridi was barred from entering the cantonment area to meet party leaders and was prevented from visiting Lahore's food street, which had been shut down ahead of his arrival. He later visited Zaman Park amid heavy police deployment. Reports also emerged of PTI supporters being detained during the tour.

Following the visit, Afridi wrote to Maryam Nawaz to complain about the treatment meted out to him.

He said the Punjab government's adoption of an extraordinary and excessive security posture, including sweeping detentions and visible enforcement theatrics, amounted to "a message of intimidation rather than cooperation".

Days after concluding the Lahore visit, Afridi formally announced his Karachi trip. "Friday, January 9!" he said on social media platform X. "Karachi, Sindh - are you ready?"

He added that he would be visiting the city "bearing Imran Khan's message" and would meet "all friends of the party".

PTI is also planning a visit to Balochistan as part of the broader street movement. For now, political focus remains on how Sindh, particularly Karachi, responds to PTI's activities, and whether the Pakistan Peoples Party-led provincial government accommodates the party more smoothly than the treatment PTI says it faced under the PML-N government during the Lahore visit.

Fresh political activity in Lahore

Meanwhile, PTI is also seeking to maintain political pressure and plans another activity in Punjab later this month under the banner of Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-e-Pakistan (TTAP), to be led by Mehmood Khan Achakzai, party sources said.

Capitalising on the momentum generated by Afridi's three-day Lahore visit, which party insiders say created significant buzz and subtly shifted the political landscape, PTI is finalising plans for a new round of mobilisation.

According to a party office-bearer, an initial proposal was to hold the activity from January 9 to 11. However, due to Afridi's Karachi visit scheduled for the same dates, the activity is now being planned for the latter half of January.

Under the proposal, Achakzai would arrive in Lahore and form a convoy from GT Road, receiving receptions at various PTI strongholds along the route. Prior to his arrival, the party intends to approach jail authorities to seek permission for meetings with PTI leaders detained at Kot Lakhpat Jail.

The party believes that if there is any serious intent to reduce political temperatures and engage PTI, "the route to Imran Khan goes through Kot Lakhpat jail", the office-bearer said.

Even if permission is denied, a media interaction outside the jail is likely to be held.

Other proposed engagements include meetings with journalists, lawyers and other notables. The option of holding a rally is also under consideration. The party expects to finalise dates within the coming days.

Responding to questions about perceived confusion in PTI's political messaging, the office-bearer said there was none, recalling Maryam Nawaz's remark that "when there will be resistance, there also will be conciliation".

Separately, the personal secretary to Achakzai confirmed that plans were being made for a four-day Lahore visit under the TTAP banner, though dates and engagements had yet to be finalised. He said multiple options, including a GT Road rally and events in Lahore, were under active consideration.