An anchorperson of a private news channel, has claimed that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s decision to march toward Prime Minister’s House had shocked even the top PTI leadership as a breakthrough had been made in the talks with the government.
The TV journalist claimed that a senior PTI leader had told him that members of the PTI Core Committee including Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Jehangir Tareen and Asad Umar had briefed Khan about the progress in talks in which the government had agreed that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif would proceed on a month’s leave to pave the way for a fair probe into alleged election rigging.
The TV anchor claimed that the PTI members told their chairman that the government had in return demanded that Khan should make public the deal to his supporters from atop the luxury container but at that very moment the PTI chairman received a call on his phone and within a spur of a moment the cricketer-politician announced to his supporters that they would march toward PM’s House, stunning even his close aides.
As soon as he made the announcement, a visibly upset PTI President Javed Hashmi had an exchange of words with Khan ostensibly over his sudden decision to march toward PM House, after which he stepped down from the container.
The journalist’s claim can be substantiated from the TV footage of Khan’s address in which he apologised to Hashmi saying, “I could not keep my promise to you.”
Khan also changed his earlier stance by announcing that this time the men amongst PTI protesters would march forward while the women and children should follow or go home, all the while reiterating that the protesters would remain peaceful.
No PTI leader was available to confirm the TV journalist’s claim regarding the unilateral decision of Khan.