- TTAP announces countrywide shutdown strike on Feb 8.
- Strike marks second anniversary of 2024 general elections.
- Sharp differences emerge during KP PTI leadership meeting.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa leadership remains divided over the party’s February 8 protest plan, with some parliamentarians opposing road closures and a proposed lockdown, sources said.
The Tehreek-e-Tahaffuz-e-Ayeen-Pakistan (TTAP) has announced a countrywide shutdown strike on February 8, marking the second anniversary of the 2024 general elections, which PTI has described as “rigged”.
The sources added that the PTI Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) parliamentary party held a meeting on Monday to finalise its strategy for the protest, during which sharp differences emerged.
According to the insiders, MNA Shahid Khattak argued that the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had given the party a mandate and that there is no justification for holding protests in the province. He warned that lockdowns and road closures would directly affect the public and create political difficulties for the Imran Khan-founded party in KP.
The sources added that MNA Atif Khan supported Shahid Khattak’s stance during the meeting. Khattak also suggested that a list be compiled of party members who did not participate in protests outside Adiala jail.
The meeting reportedly turned heated when PTI Khyber Pakhtunkhwa President Junaid Akbar expressed frustration, saying the leadership is under pressure from “appeasing” everyone. Whom are we supposed to appease? First Aleema Khan, then the workers, and now you…. Whom should we convince?” Akbar told Khattak.
Speaking to Geo News, Khattak confirmed that all participants, including Akbar, shared their views during the meeting. He said he had cautioned that a lockdown would cause hardship for the public.
Earlier, the TTAP announced a nationwide strike on February 8 and maintained that it would prove to be a “decisive turning point in the struggle for restoration of constitutional rights, protection of the right to vote and upholding democratic principles.”
In a declaration issued last month, the opposition alliance yet again alleged that the public mandate was violated and large-scale vote theft occurred in the last general election.
