‘Disappointing’; PTI leader Shoukat Yousufzai hits out at party leadership

PTI leader Shaukat Yousafzai has been actively conducting interviews with channels to express disappointment with the party leadership over Tuesday's final call protest.

Talking to ARY News, Shaukat Yousafzai confirmed that Bushra Bibi and Chief Minister KP Ali Amin Gandapur are in Mansehra and are safe.

“It was the funeral of political culture in the country,” he said, pointing out that the government handled the protestors brutally. Moreover, he said that there is a need for self-analysis as well. He expressed disappointment over the lack of coordination within the party leadership during recent events, emphasizing missed opportunities for dialogue and poor decision-making. He also said that “no leader came forward except Ali Amin”, stressing that  “those holding positions of authority have disappointed us. Ali Amin Gandapur was made a scapegoat, and from Peshawar to Islamabad, no leader was visible.”

He then turned his guns towards the main leaders. “Where were Barrister Gohar and Salman Akram Raja? Sher Afzal Marwat was also absent when the leadership did not have the authority to make decisions; why did it take so many workers?” 

Talking about Bushra Bibi’s role, he remarked, “She holds no political position, yet her stance overrules others.” He further questioned the absence of other leaders, asking, “Where was Salman Akram Raja, the General Secretary, during all this?”

In a frustrated tone, he lamented the exclusion of experienced party members from decision-making processes, saying, “Our opinions were ignored. If we are not considered politically relevant, remove us from the party.”

Shaukat Yousafzai further said that it was already known that the government would demonstrate fascism in D Chowk. He demanded an investigation within the party as to why D Chowk was chosen as the target area for a sit-in. 

The party’s former General Secretary then appeared on Geo News to raise the question of why, if the federal government had asked for talks, they were not held. “Why were consultations not held on the government’s offer of talks,” he asked in an exasperated tone. 

Notably, former party leader Faisal Vawda also held a press conference and called this the “final nail in the coffin of PTI” while warning of tougher times ahead for them and an impending ban on the party. 

On November 26, Islamabad Police announced a grand operation against PTI workers, as a result of which PTI leaders and workers, including the wife of PTI founder Bushra Bibi, KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, left the federal capital for Mansehra and their press conference is awaited.