• Insiders say membership drive is ‘waste of time’, demand its immediate launch
• Jailed party leaders say country on ‘downward slide on every front’

ISLAMABAD: With the PTI all set to start registration for the ‘Imran Khan Release Movement’ after Eid, several party leaders believe the protest should be launched immediately rather than ‘wasting time’ on membership drives.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi had announced the formation of the Imran Khan release force in February after a days-long protest to secure a meeting with Mr Khan failed to budge the government.

CM Afridi had said that the force would work to secure relief for the jailed founder. The announcement, however, had divided the party leaders, who initially questioned the rationale for the release force. Last week, PTI leader Salman Akram Raja announced that they would start the registration for this force after Eid.

Speaking to Dawn on condition of anonymity, the party leaders appeared restive about the decision. They said it was the right time to start the protest for the release of Mr Khan rather than “wasting precious time” in the registration drive and oath-taking ceremonies.

In a comment on Mr Raja’s press conference, a senior party leader said it was strange that the PTI secretary general held the presser alongside leaders from KP.

“There was no representation of Punjab and Sindh in that presser, which raised many an eyebrow. On the other hand, Sohail Afridi has been saying in party meetings that he will start the registration of workers and then their oath-taking will be held, and finally, a movement will be started. It seems even he is not clear what he will do. So we have been forced to think that it is nothing but a time-buying tactic,” he added. He said the PTI already had so many wings, which should be mobilised to secure the release of Mr Khan.

PTI Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram told Dawn that the registration would not take long, as the party already had so many wings at the district level, due to which membership would be completed in a short time. He said that efforts would be made for the release of Imran Khan and claimed that the whole party was united.

PTI stalwart Asad Qaiser said a public gathering will be held in Pishin right after Eid, which will also be attended by CM Afridi as well. “We will soon start the movement. Although it will be called ‘Release Imran Khan Movement’, we will also raise our voice for the rule of law, independence of judiciary, independent foreign policy, and to address the economic crisis,” he said.

Asad Qaiser said that it would be a peaceful movement in which the masses would be mobilised. “We will also hold hunger strike camps, protests and public meetings,” he added.

‘Downward slide’

Separately, the five PTI leaders, imprisoned in Kot Lakhpat jail, expressed concern that the country was moving towards regression owing to terrorism, inflation, debt and war in the Middle East.

In a letter shared by their counsel on Sunday, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Dr Yasmin Rashid, Ejaz Chaudhry, Mian Mahmoodur Rasheed, and Omar Sarfraz Cheema said the country was sliding downwards on every front.

They said the country had been caught in the quagmire of debt; terrorism was devouring two provinces; inflation had broken the back of the poor and middle class; and Israel and the US were attacking Iran.

Speaking about their imprisonment, they said they were the ‘prisoners of their conscience’ and also congratulated the entire nation on the occasion of Eid.

They said a majority of the people considered Eid a moment of joy and blessings, even in the most difficult circumstances. “Sharing happiness with others with limited resources is an essence of Ramazan and a notable trait of Pakistanis,” they stated.

Mansoor Malik in Lahore also contributed to this report

Published in Dawn, March 23rd, 2026