Tehreek e Insaf Ka Har Soorat March Aur Naik Chaal Chalan Ki Zamanat
Despite my strong aversion to conspiracy theories, I felt compelled to write this morning about an understanding reached a few days ago between some senior leaders of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and key ministers of the Shehbaz government. The agreement was that no unrest would occur in Islamabad during the SCO summit. However, many PTI leaders and workers were kept unaware of this possible “deal.” Up until Monday evening, several of them were active on social media, issuing threats that if their party leaders, Imran Khan’s sisters, or any doctor from Shaukat Khanum Hospital were not allowed to meet Imran Khan at Adiala Jail, they would march to D-Chowk in Islamabad on Tuesday, the day the SCO summit was to begin on October 15. They declared that it would be a do-or-die situation.
After reading the initial paragraph, you might justifiably wonder what evidence I have to substantiate my claim. I confess with folded hands that I have none. The claim is based solely on a reporter’s observation.
Since July last year, I have been hosting a talk show on a TV channel from Monday to Thursday at 8 p.m. Preparing for it requires traveling from my home in Islamabad’s F-8 sector to the TV channel’s office, which is about a 20-minute drive away and located behind a hotel in the Red Zone. Over the past three months, the road from F-8 to the Parliament House via Blue Area has frequently been closed. This started with protests by Jamaat-e-Islami against bombings in Gaza. Normally, it took no more than 20 minutes to reach the office, but due to road closures caused by containers, it sometimes took over an hour.
Once the sit-in by Jamaat-e-Islami in front of Parliament ended, PTI began staging sit-ins and rallies at the same location to demand the release of their leader. To prevent these gatherings, not only was the road from Blue Area to Parliament closed, but traffic was also severely restricted across many streets in Islamabad by setting up containers. Islamabad already resembles a vast plain nestled in the valleys of hills, and with numerous roads blocked off by container barriers, longtime residents began to feel trapped. I have frequently raised this issue in my columns.
Some PTI enthusiasts interpreted my columns as evidence that I was allegedly taking bribes from the Sharif family to oppose the constitutionally provided right of citizens to hold protests. I am well-acquainted with the “taste” of the respect for “freedom of expression” ingrained in PTI’s culture, having experienced it personally during Imran Khan’s three-and-a-half-year government. Soon after taking the oath as Prime Minister in August 2018, certain TV anchors, including myself, were branded as troublemakers and removed from television screens. When people who labeled journalists as sellouts and insulted them start talking about “constitutional rights,” I can’t help but chuckle at the irony.
Anyway, returning to the main topic: Last Thursday, I was informed that since all routes to Islamabad’s Red Zone would be sealed for the SCO, our channel’s office would also be closed for three days, and I would have to do my show via DSNG from home. I mentally prepared to stay confined at home for three days, but on Sunday evening, around 7 p.m., I received news that the office would remain open, and I would be transported to the studio as usual. Although this seemed to resolve my problem, doubts lingered.
When a car arrived to take me to the office on Monday afternoon, I kept an eye on the road like a reporter. To my pleasant surprise, there were no containers in sight anywhere. There were a couple of police checkpoints before reaching the Red Zone, where officers would ask my driver for identification but, recognizing me due to my TV presence, would immediately allow us to pass. A few Rangers trucks were also visible on the roads, and some personnel were stationed at a few places, but they were not stopping vehicles to check IDs. None of this surprised me, but what did was my experience returning home around 9 p.m.
By 9 p.m., many PTI leaders were still claiming that they would definitely reach D-Chowk on Tuesday, disregarding the SCO’s opening session. A recorded conversation of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister was circulating on social media, where he had said “Insha’Allah” in response to a question about joining the march in Islamabad on October 15. Earlier, a meeting of PTI leaders from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, led by Ali Amin Gandapur, had also taken place, with a press release pledging to march to Islamabad “at all costs.”
My skeptical mind interpreted Gandapur’s “Insha’Allah” as an indication that he would actually be arriving as a guest at the SCO summit. I expressed this suspicion on my show. However, doubts lingered that figures like Hammad Azhar and Aamir Dogar from PTI Punjab were inciting workers to reach Islamabad “at all costs” on October 15. Listening to their statements and messages, I was perplexed that, despite these calls for action, there were no containers on Islamabad’s roads and no significant deployment of police or Rangers to suggest preparations for the anticipated unrest on the morning of October 15. The reporter within me kept questioning why the government wasn’t taking any measures to prevent possible disturbances on October 15.
With these thoughts, I returned home, and after briefly scrolling through social media, I began preparing for bed. During this time, I received a call from my friend Waseem Badami’s TV show. Once connected, Badami asked why the PTI’s planned agitation for October 15 had been canceled. While answering him, I realized why our office had been open on October 14 and why the police and Rangers appeared so relaxed on the roads. Undoubtedly, some senior PTI figures had assured the authorities of “good conduct” behind the scenes, unbeknownst to ordinary citizens like us.
