TTAP to proceed with Lahore activities

Disregarding PTI's suggestions, the Tehreek Tahafuz-e-Ain-Pakistan (TTAP) is planning to proceed with its series of activities in Lahore, starting from January 8, sources have revealed.

According to the current plan — which remains fluid given the myriad factors that could force the opposition parties' alliance to shift to a contingency plan — TTAP chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai will arrive in Lahore on January 8 to commence his activities.

He will travel to Lahore via the GT Road, along which welcome arrangements have been planned. According to a party office-bearer, given the back-and-forth on dates, arrangements are yet to be finalised.

It was also reported that a request will be made to allow Achakzai to meet with the PTI leaders detained at Kot Lakhpat Jail. Another party source revealed that the main issue was the overlapping of events.

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Chief Minister Sohail Afridi is scheduled to arrive in Karachi on January 9 and is expected to stay there for three days, while in Punjab, another series of events, led by the TTAP chief, were planned between January 8 and January 11.

The overlap, the source said, could have been avoided if the events had been scheduled on different dates. He claimed that PTI leader Asad Qaiser had even threatened to quit the TTAP if the dates were not adjusted according to their suggestions.

The source added that Mehmood Khan Achakzai and other TTAP leaders were of the view that, since they had been informed about these events well in advance, long before the K-P CM announced his Sindh trip the overlap was technically not their fault.

He further stated that it was due to the intervention of Imran Khan's family that the discord was ultimately resolved. The personal secretary to Achakzai confirmed that they will reach Lahore on January 8 via GT Road.

When asked if Asad Qaiser was on board, given his objection to the dates, he said the matter had been sorted out, and the plan would proceed as scheduled.

Punjab Minister for Information Azma Bukhari said in view of the obstacles faced by K-P CM during his Lahore visit, the entire plan remained hypothetical, and nothing was concrete. She added that until a formal request regarding a political activity is initiated, no comment could be made.

Responding to another question regarding Sindh extending a welcome to Sohail Afridi for his upcoming visit to Karachi, she said, "We hope the CM and his entourage will behave appropriately in Sindh, unlike in Punjab, where journalists were roughed up and subjected to foul language."

She said the PPP's announcement of a formal welcome for the CM was good for both parties, the PPP and the PTI. Sindh Minister for Culture Zulfiqar Ali Shah and Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab had said they would welcome Afridi in Karachi, present him with an Ajrak, and greet him warmly.