• Embattled party forms district committees to run awareness campaigns ahead of the protest
• Azma says Imran’s sons will not be allowed to create unrest

ISLAMABAD/LAHORE: In the lead-up to the ‘Free Imran Khan Movement’ expected to be launched on Aug 5, the PTI in the northern Punjab region has decided to rely on its grassroots workers to galvanise its support – a move which contrasts with its earlier practice of depending on heavyweights to drum up support for its protests.

Since the incarceration of the party founder in 2023, the embattled political party has failed to mobilise workers, particularly in Punjab, due to a crackdown on its top- and middle-tier leadership by the provincial government as well as a disconnect between the party leaders and the cadre.

Seemingly, in order to bridge this gap, the North Punjab chapter of the party has established committees at the district and tehsil levels to run awareness campaigns for the release of Mr Khan.

A meeting chaired by chapter’s president Malik Taimoor Masood decided that the movement would be officially launched on August 5. It was further decided that Malik Yasir Patwali, Fayaz Tabassum and Yasir Jamal will lead the awareness campaign in Attock. In Rawalpindi Metropolitan, the task has been assigned to Malik Azeem, Tayyaba Raja and Muslim Shehzad. In Rawalpindi City, Zubair Khan, Wajahat Qayyum Abbasi, Parveen Rehmani and Hafiz Zahid will lead the campaign and Sardar Mansoor and Hasnain Sunbal will mobilise workers in Murree.

Similarly, three PTI workers, Farrukh Mehmood Sial, Rizwan Dani and Muhammad Afzal, have been nominated from Jhelum, while Aftab Ahmad Sahi, Malik Hammad and Ehtisham Kiani have been assigned duties in Chakwal. Ghulam Dastagir and Sajida Begum will work in Mianwali and Arslan Manch and Zohaib Umar will rally workers in Khushab. The party workers have been charged with mobilisation duties in Sargodha and Bhakkar as well.

The campaign will start at the district and tehsil levels, featuring corner meetings, door-to-door canvassing, and public engagement under the leadership of local MNAs, MPAs, ticket-holders, and organisational office-bearers. It was also decided that each district and tehsil would regularly submit performance reports to the designated representatives of the North Punjab chapter. These activities will be monitored and reports will be forwarded by the PTI North Punjab president to the senior leadership.

Speaking to Dawn, PTI Central Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram said the party aimed to gain momentum ahead of the Aug 5 anniversary of Imran Khan’s imprisonment and workers were being mobilised in this regard.

He said at present, they had not decided to take the protest to Islamabad, and for now it would be public meetings and rallies in respective cities and provinces. He said all the district committees would report to PTI Punjab President Aliya Hamza, who would then inform the central leadership about the progress on mobilisation.

‘Unrest in Pakistan’

Meanwhile, the Punjab government’s information minister, Azma Bukhari, said Imran’s son — Kasim and Suleman — would not be allowed to create unrest in Pakistan. Earlier this week, Aleema Khan had said that the ex-PM’s son would be visiting Pakistan to join the campaign for the release of their father. She, however, did not share a timeline in this regard.

In a presser in Lahore, Ms Bukhari said that Imran Khan’s sons would not be allowed to create unrest in the country. “Why did Khan’s sons not visit Pakistan when he was injured. Now suddenly, they are missing Pakistan,” she questioned. The minister said Mr Khan’s sons would not be allowed to create unrest in Pakistan. “Jemima has reportedly barred her sons from visiting Pakistan… The instigators will not be allowed to use children to spread unrest,” she warned.

On the other hand, Imran’s ex-wife Jemima Goldsmith accused the government of preventing her children from speaking to their father and threatening to arrest them if they came to Pakistan. “My children are not allowed to speak on the phone to their father Imran Khan. He has been in solitary confinement in prison for nearly 2 years,” Ms Goldsmith said in a post on X on Thursday.

She said, “Pakistan’s government has now said if they go there to try to see him, they too will be arrested and put behind bars. This doesn’t happen in a democracy or a functioning state. This isn’t politics. It’s a personal vendetta.” Her statement came after a warning from PM’s adviser Rana Sanaullah that Imran Khan’s sons would be arrested if they joined any violent PTI protest in Pakistan.

On the other hand, PML-N’s Senator Irfan Siddiqui hinted that the government might not arrest them on arrival, but the law would take its course if they joined the protest movement of the PTI.

“In my personal opinion as the government has so far not taken any official stance, Suleman and Kasim should be allowed to come. They should come and carry out their activities.”

Published in Dawn, July 11th, 2025