Achakzai-led alliance plans receptions en route, alleges crackdown on PTI workers
TTAP convoy reached Gujar Khan, where it received a formal welcome. SCREENGRAB
A convoy of Tehreek Tahaffuz Aain Pakistan (TTAP), an alliance of opposition parties, departed from Islamabad for Lahore on Thursday to express solidarity with the sisters of jailed PTI founder Imran Khan.
Led by TTAP chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai, the convoy included around 70 vehicles carrying senior leaders of the movement as well as opposition members of the Punjab Assembly, including Opposition Leader Moeen Qureshi. A collective prayer was offered before the convoy set off.
The convoy reached Gujar Khan, where it received a formal welcome.
Party sources said Gujar Khan was the first of five planned receptions along the route. However, PTI sources said the first major reception was expected in Jhelum, where party workers were preparing to welcome the leadership.
According to TTAP spokesperson Akhunzada Hussain, Achakzai, Allama Raja Nasir, Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar and former National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser were initially part of the delegation. PTI sources later said Asad Qaiser would not join the convoy as he was scheduled to hold a press conference at K-P House with Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and Salman Akram Raja at around 2pm on Thursday.
PTI sources also said Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar had a prior family commitment and was expected to join the delegation on Friday. Akhunzada Hussain later confirmed that Asad Qaiser and Mustafa Nawaz would not be accompanying the convoy for these reasons but said both leaders, including Asad Qaiser, would join later.
Akhunzada Hussain said the delegation would be received at five different points between Gujar Khan and Data Darbar. He said the convoy was expected to arrive in Lahore by 7pm and that Zaman Park would serve as the base for political activities. He added that Moeen Qureshi was making arrangements for a possible engagement at the Punjab Assembly, though no plan had been finalised.
A PTI source said the party had already approached Imran Khan’s sister to seek permission for an engagement at Zaman Park, but the programme was not yet final. He said other engagements were also unconfirmed and arrangements were being finalised on the fly.
According to the same source, after the reception in Gujar Khan, the convoy was expected to stop for lunch in Jhelum, followed by another sizable event in Gujrat. The second-last reception is planned at Shahdrah, while the final reception would be held at Data Darbar. He said activities at the Punjab Assembly, Minar-e-Pakistan and other locations were also under consideration.
Read: TTAP convoy arrives in Lahore today
Akhunzada Hussain said permission to use Zaman Park as the base had been granted a month ago. He described Zaman Park as a symbol of resistance and said PTI had no objection to its use.
Meanwhile, PTI leader Brigadier (retd) Mushtaq, the party’s focal person in Punjab and a member of the provincial assembly, said the convoy would pass through several cities before reaching Lahore. He alleged that the provincial government was under pressure due to the movement and claimed PTI workers were facing a crackdown in multiple cities.
He said that on Wednesday a “full fury” of police action was unleashed against PTI leaders and workers in Jhelum, including arrests, ransacking of homes, door-knocking and harassment. He said the house of the party’s district general secretary was ransacked and the district president was arrested in District Jhelum.
