RAWALPINDI: The suspended office-bearers of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) on Thursday refused to mobilise people for the Islamabad sit-in on Friday.

After the departure of Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) chief Dr Tahirul Qadri and his followers from the Constitution Avenue, the PTI assigned its local chapters in the Rawalpindi division to bring people to the sit-in turn by turn. The Rawalpindi district chapter was supposed to bring people to the sit-in on Friday.

Also read: PTI suspends membership of 10 office-bearers

The membership of 10 local PTI office-bearers was suspended after they entered into a brawl with Imran Khan’s cousin Ahmed Niazi for not allowing them to enter the container of the PTI chief at the sit-in site.

“Around 30 local leaders and active workers had been invited to the roof of the container on Monday. But Ahmed Niazi stopped the PTI district president Arif Abbasi and secretary general Rashid Hafeez along with some workers of the youth wing. They called the PTI Punjab north president, Sadaqat Abbasi, to convince Mr Niazi to allow them to enter the container but the latter misbehaved with them,” said a local party worker while talking to Dawn.

After PAT’s departure from Islamabad, local PTI chapters brought people to sit-in

He said on Tuesday the youth wing workers went to the sit-in and beat up Mr Niazi and two party workers on security duty. However, he said the party leadership took action against the office-bearers without listening to their point of view.

The party officials tried to contact the local leaders for the mobilisation of workers and supporters but most of them did not receive the calls. After this, the party leaders asked the PTI candidates who lost the 2013 elections to bring people to the sit-in on Friday.

However, the local workers and leaders decided not to go to the sit-in to avoid any untoward situation.

“After 90 days, we find time to rest in our houses. The party suspended our membership for 10 days during which we will take rest. It is not our duty to mobilise the people for the sit-in,” a suspended local leader requesting not to be named told Dawn.

“Party workers need due respect and if the PTI failed to respect us, it should not give lectures to the citizens on their rights.”

Ahmed Raja, a PTI worker from PP-6, said he and his friends refused to go to Islamabad as the party officials deputed on security misbehaved with the workers.

He said he received a message from an unknown number reminding him of the gathering on Friday but he replied that he was busy.

But PTI Punjab north president Sadaqat Abbasi told Dawn that the office-bearers continued working for the party despite the suspension orders issued by the secretary general, Jahangir Tareen.

“The party will attract a good number of people from other areas in the Potohar region if the local leaders and workers did not turn up,” he said.

However, he admitted that he did not go to the sit-in on the direction of the party chairman.

He said after the suspension of the district president Arif Abbasi and him, Chauhdry Zubair would be looking after the affairs of the district and Hina Manzoor, who lost the 2013 elections from NA-54, would be running the PTI Punjab north.

PTI Rawalpindi chapter’s suspended president Arif Abbasi told Dawn that the party had asked them not to attend the sit-in for a few days. He said other people would launch the mobilisation campaign for Friday’s gathering.

PTI Punjab president Chaudhry Ijaz said the party did not appoint new office-bearers as a fact-finding committee would present its report over the incident within 10 days.

“If the committee did not present its report within 10 days, the party will appoint new office-bearers. However, at present the senior leaders will run the affairs of the local chapter of the party.”

He said people came to the sit-in for Imran Khan and the gathering would not be affected by such minor issues. He said people from Islamabad and adjoining districts will also attend the gathering on Friday.

Published in Dawn, November 14th, 2014