Ali Muhammad Khan's leaked audio reveals how PTI 'mismanaged' its Nov 24 protest

A leaked audio of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Ali Muhammad Khan has revealed what the jailed former prime minister Imran Khan really said about the November 24 protest of the party. 

Ali Muhammad Khan can be heard in the audio saying that Imran Khan directed the party leadership to go to Islamabad, not specifically D-Chowk. He said that Imran Khan had said that venue of the protest would be decided once party workers arrive in the federal capital. “When the founding chairman directed the party to go to Sangjani, who instructed the party leaders to go to D-Chowk?” he asked. He said that PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan should have given the call for the November 24 protest instead of Imran Khan’s elder sister Aleema Khan.

Ali Muhammad Khan claimed that even Imran Khan agreed that only the party leadership would give the call for any protest in future. He recalled Imran Khan’s announcement that there was no place for dynastic politics in the PTI. He said that Imran Khan said in the presence of Barrister Gohar, Faisal Chaudhry and others that PTI’s protest was meant to bring the rulers to the dialogue table. Imran Khan also opposed the idea of separate protests in Sindh and Punjab. He directed the party leadership to stage a sit-in at Sangjani and hold talks with the government.

He said that Imran Khan did not know about former first lady Bushra Bibi’s participation in the protest. He said that Barrister Gohar informed Imran Khan that Bushra Bibi participated in the protest. He said that PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and Secretary General Salman Akram Raja should have announced the sit-in at Sangjani. He said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur too had agreed to stage a sit-in at Sangjani.

“When the founding chairman asked to stage a sit-in at Sangjani, why did we go to D-Chowk?” he asked. “We should have followed our leader’s orders and stayed at Sangjani,” he said. He said that nobody including Bushra Bibi had the authority to overrule Imran Khan’s orders. He said that when Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif had conveyed Imran Khan’s orders and they should have been complied with.