RAWALPINDI: Due to divisions among the local leaders, the Rawalpindi chapter of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) is unlikely to pull crowds for the party’s founding day celebrations in Fatima Jinnah Park Islamabad on April 24.

The PTI has tasked each MPA and the local leaders who contested the 2013 general elections to bring 5,000 people each to the public gathering.

However, the local leaders found the task unrealistic and said the compared to the sit-in in the capital city in 2014, this time the PTI did not provide funds for arranging transport for the participants.

PTI has asked its Rawalpindi chapter to bring 5,000 people from each constituency to F-9 Park

“The party gave the task to us to bring 5,000 people from each constituency of the provincial assembly but it is not possible without the financial help from the party,” said a senior local leader of the PTI requesting not to be named.

He said the party was divided in two major groups - the MPAs group and the other consisting of new arrivals from the PML-Q. Due to the grouping, the party workers and supporters were confused.

“Ideally, after getting directives from the party the local leaders should have formed a joint strategy to mobilise the people for the public gathering. However, instead of sitting together and devising a strategy, they started holding separate meetings asking the workers to join their respective rallies,” he said.

The party has planned to take out two rallies from Murree Road and Peshawar Road to the F-9 Park.

A senior local leader said in the past the party used mobile phones to inform its workers and supporters about any programme but this time they were taking least interest in it.

“The popularity graph of the party is decreasing at least in the garrison city due to the performance of the four PTI MPAs who have remained busy in their visits to United Kingdom and Dubai and even could not establish their public secretariats to receive public complaints,” said another local leader of the party.

He said during the cantonment and local government elections, the PTI got no seat in the 20 wards of the cantonment and managed to win just two seats in the 46 union councils.

When contacted, PTI leader Zahid Kazmi said the party was trying to take a large number of people from Rawalpindi to F-9 Park.

“If the MPAs did not work properly, it would badly affect the image of the party in the district. They should work to mobilise the public as per directives of the party chairmen,” he said.

However, PTI MPA Arif Abbasi admitted that there were problems in mobilising the citizens.

“We asked the candidates for the chairmen of union councils in the local government elections 2015 to bring people from their union councils.” He admitted that party workers and supporters were not mobilised as compared to the sit-in of 2014, adding during the sit-in the PTI provided funds to the local chapter for arranging transport to the participants.

Published in Dawn, April 23rd, 2016