TTAP to create a parallel political arm

Alliance seeks independent support base as PTI steps back

LAHORE:

With the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) now ready to take a back seat, Tehreek-e-Tahafuz-e-Aain-e-Pakistan (TTAP) will establish its own political arm and develop a formal organisational structure at the provincial level, a TTAP leader has revealed.

The leader also said an All Parties Conference (APC) was expected to be held on October 25, give or take a few days.

TTAP, which drew much of its strength from PTI, was now in dire need of its own dedicated support base, the leader said. Given the government's strong-arm tactics, PTI could no longer flex its muscles as it had in the past.

With PTI's support virtually unavailable for the time being, TTAP leadership felt the multiparty opposition alliance needed to build its own support base to organise events and get its message across.

The leader said the alliance had asked its provincial chapters to develop organisational structures and establish working groups and research groups.

Asked why TTAP was pursuing the initiative again despite having announced it several times in the past, the leader said the biggest hurdle had been PTI itself, despite TTAP's desire to establish its own organisational structure.

He said PTI had initially viewed the move as an attempt to establish a parallel power centre, leading to heated discussions between the two sides. However, recent developments had made PTI realise the benefits of such an arrangement.

He said regional parties could offer only limited street power because of their relatively small support bases, adding that PTI had therefore remained TTAP's main source of strength.

Now that PTI chairman had agreed to and fully endorsed the initiative, TTAP had once again embarked on the mission, he said.

The move would allow TTAP to generate political pressure independently of PTI and enable it to challenge what it considers government injustices against the party, the leader added.