What's next for Imran Khan's PTI after the setback in Islamabad protests? | Imran Khan News

Islamabad, Pakistan When a convoy of thousands of supporters of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party arrived in Islamabad on Monday evening to rally behind their jailed leader, former Prime Minister Imran Khan, they were urged by the Khan's wife, Bushra Bibi. , to stay until his release is obtained.

However, in less than 24 hours, a late night raid by security forces dispersed the crowd on Tuesday, reportedly causing casualties among PTI protesters and law enforcement.

The operation, which began shortly before midnight, took place against a backdrop of a power outage in central Islamabad, less than 3 kilometers from D-Chowk, the public square demarcating the capital's red zone. , where many government buildings are located.

Bushra Bibi and Ali Amin Gandapur, the PTI chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, retreated to the north-western province under the cover of darkness as the operation began and security forces used tear gas to disperse the crowd. On Wednesday morning, the PTI issued a statement announcing that it was canceling the demonstration for the time being.

The PTI convoys had moved from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to Islamabad, defying court orders barring them from entering the city, to pressure the government on three demands: reclaiming what the party calls its stolen mandate in the elections of February, the release of political prisoners, including Khan, and the annulment of a constitutional amendment granting the government control over judicial appointments.

By the time the protesters left, it was the PTI leadership that was under pressure, analysts said. None of the party's demands were met, and it was unclear how the organization would regroup.

The protest was billed as their last call, but its collapse is a major blow to their political strategy, political analyst Zaigham Khan told Al Jazeera.

The operation by police and paramilitary rangers resulted in conflicting reports of the deaths.

The PTI said eight of its supporters were killed while the government denied using live ammunition and insisted no protesters died. Authorities reported that three rangers were killed Monday in a hit-and-run involving a PTI convoy, while a police officer died in clashes with party supporters.

Security forces fire tear gas shells in Islamabad to disperse PTI supporters demanding release of Imran Khan [Reuters]

It was the PTI's fourth protest in four months, with previous rallies, including one in October, ending prematurely.

Gandapur held a press conference in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Mansehra town on Wednesday afternoon, condemning the government's crackdown on PTI workers and saying the party would continue to press its demands.

The PTI has been in protest mode since Imran Khan's government was ousted in a parliamentary no-confidence vote in April 2022.

Although its candidates won the largest number of seats in February's elections, the party failed to form a government and claimed its mandate had been stolen.

Imran Khan has been in prison since August 2023 and faces numerous charges, including corruption and treason. Bushra Bibi was also jailed for nine months for corruption before being released on bail in October.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi accused Bushra Bibi of orchestrating the unrest in Islamabad. The loss of life and economic damage in recent days rests entirely on his shoulders, Naqvi said on Tuesday.

PTI leader Sayed Zulfi Bukhari declined to comment on the party's next steps, saying they were focused on treating victims.

But Benazir Shah, a Lahore-based political analyst, said that for now, launching another large-scale protest for Imran Khan's release seems out of the question for the PTI.

Going forward, the PTI will have to recalibrate its strategy. One potential path would be to forge alliances with other political parties as well as popular movements sharing grievances against the state. A unified protest focused on social issues or human rights could help generate national momentum, Shah told Al Jazeera.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's spokesperson Rana Ihsaan Afzal rejected accusations of excessive force, accusing PTI supporters of carrying weapons.

We have police officers with gunshot wounds, which indicates that the protesters were armed, Afzal said. He added that the government had repeatedly offered alternative protest sites, but the PTI had violated Islamabad High Court orders by holding a rally in the city.

This was not a peaceful demonstration. They sought violence and used it as a tactic to gain sympathy, he said.

Thousands of PTI workers and supporters arrived in Islamabad from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in former Prime Minister Khan's latest call to stage a sit-in in the capital. [Akhtar Soomro/Reuters]

But analysts say the PTI's latest protest setback demonstrates, more than anything else, its lack of leadership.

Analyst Talat Hussain said the party's reliance on social media hype faltered when tested on the ground. Last night, PTI learned that politics is about more than online stories, he told Al Jazeera.

Ahmed Ijaz, a political observer in Islamabad, questioned the abrupt departure of Bushra Bibi and Gandapur, arguing that their actions could deepen divisions within the party.

The way they abandoned their supporters at D-Chowk will harm the party's ability to formulate its next steps, he said.

Yet political observers said this week's events also cast a shadow over the government's credibility.

The government's use of force was likely to serve as an example to deter future protests, Shah said. However, this authoritarian approach risks backfiring in the coming days and revealing the current government's inability to engage in dialogue or defuse the situation.

Zaigham Khan, the Islamabad-based analyst, was not surprised by the government's response.

It is the most unpopular government, he said, pointing to allegations of fraud in the February elections that have plagued the Sharif administration for the past nine months. So any attempt considered to upset the apple cart, they could not afford it and pursued them with such force.

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