Mashal Yousafzai, a spokesperson for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi, asserted on Friday that the former first lady was not ready to leave D-Chowk despite “shots being fired at her vehicle and a chemical-like substance was thrown on the windscreen” during the party’s “do-and-die” protest in Islamabad.
The protest, aimed at securing Khan’s release who has been behind bars for more than a year, is currently under scrutiny by the former ruling party over its decision to reach D-Chowk in Islamabad as opposed to holding a rally at Sangjani.
Bushra and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur are facing strong criticism for their decision to push forward with the protest at D-Chowk.
Speaking on Geo News programme “Naya Pakistan”, Yousafzai narrated the tense situation at the protest venue following a police crackdown and Bushra’s firm stance not to leave the PTI protesters.
She claimed: “Shots were fired straight at Bushra’s vehicle and a chemical-like substance was thrown on the windscreen of the bulletproof vehicle which blurred everything.”
Her statement came after Islamabad’s police chief’s denial regarding the use of live ammunition by law enforcers during the operation.
Yousafzai went on the say that the PTI founder’s wife could not travel in the same vehicle, therefore, people with her asked her to change the vehicle and assured her that she would be taken back to the sit-in venue.
Bushra’s spokesperson added that she was not certain what exactly happened after Bushra changed her vehicle as she got separated from the former first lady due to a stampede.
Expressing surprise at how PTI chief Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and KP CM’s aide Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif managed to meet Khan at Adiala Jail, she claimed that Bushra received an “indirect message” regarding Khan’s purported message to stage a sit-in at Sangjani.
Yousafzai claimed that Bushra wanted to confirm about Sangjani directly from Khan which was not impossible as there is a landline number available at the Adiala Jail.
To a question, she confirmed that no one held a meeting with Bushra after she returned from the protest and she met her after two days. Bushra Bibi has neither attended any meeting nor held any meeting with anyone, Yousafzai added.
Prior to this statement, Yousafzai said that the party founder would be the one to carry out accountability for the demonstration — that failed to achieve its objective of securing his release.
“She [Bushra] reached the D-Chowk as per Khan’s directions [whereas] party leadership wasn’t there […] whatever happened Khan sahib will hold [people] accountable,” said Mashal Yousafzai in a post on X.
The Imran Khan-founded party’s much-hyped protest in Islamabad, which started on November 24, was “postponed” abruptly in the wee hours of Wednesday, November 27, with nearly 1,000 supporters being arrested by authorities.
The aftershocks of the protest have not only led to calls for an internal inquiry but have also led to the party’s secretary general Salman Akram Raja and Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) Chairman Sahibzada Hamid Raza’s resignation — with the latter quitting from the PTI’s political and core committees.
Apart from the internal turmoil, the former ruling party now also faces external challenges including a ban as well as governor’s rule in the KP.
