LAHORE - The mood of PTI activists and success of party’s foundation day will determine the fate of Imran Khan’s sit-in at Raiwind to demand a high-powered commission for probing Panama leaks, said some PTI leaders talking to The Nation yesterday.

However, another bunch of Mr Khan’s party said, “There is no plan on the cards to stage a sit-in at Raiwind. No decision has so far been taken by the party leadership to stage a demonstration demanding a commission under the chief justice to investigate the Panama leaks.”

Surprisingly, the PTI group which said that the success of foundation day would decide the fate of staging a sit-in at Raiwind added that party’s high command had asked various party leaders to make preparations for assembling 100,000 activists in the provincial capital to hold a massive demonstration.

The anti-protest group in the party said, “How can a target be given to the leaders when there is no decision made to organise the protest.”
Chaudhry Sarwar, PTI’s only senior leader giving his on the record input on the matter to the paper said, “We have not taken any decision to stage a sit-in at Raiwind for Panama leaks investigation commission. There are other means which may be more effective to get our demands met.”

PTI would not take any decision on this matter without engaging the opposition and other likeminded political parties. The party would not take any step on this serious issue without involving other political forces, added Mr Sarwar.

“Making early preparations and short-listing the suitable candidates for the next general elections is much more important than wasting energies for a sit-in. As a party of the electoral politics we should be more focused on winning maximum seats in the elections than following the political groups who are just pressure groups,” said the anti-demonstrations group.

“We should practise politics of exposing the government over various issues facing the masses which include the corruption. We cannot afford sticking to one issue on the cost of damaging party’s overall ability to perform in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and vibrant opposition in National Assembly and Punjab Assembly,” they added.

According to the pro-protest political group, it is the right time to strike its arch rival, the PML-N, to grab political opportunity which the party lost during the Azadi March. They believe the party’s youth which is its vital strength could only be rejuvenated through the launch of another demonstration on the pattern of Azadi March.

Though it seems, PTI will not opt to stage a sit-in at Raiwind for the reasons their leaders have said but many of its activists are keenly waiting for April 24 the foundation day of the party to listen to the word of party chairman on the matter.