Defence Minister Khawaja Asif accused the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) of using the Pashtun card for politics. He blasted the leaders of PTI for quoting fictitious numbers on deaths of party supporters during protests, asking why no evidence or families came forward with claims.
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Furthermore, Asif alleged that internal divisions within PTI were a sign of conflicting narratives among its leadership. He quoted some remarks of Omer Ayub, who stated that major PTI bigwigs had already fled the protest, including Bushra Bibi. Further, he claimed that even Ali Amin Gandaour abandoned the protest, whose escape and attack by PTI supporters were caught on a video. Asif also alleged that a guard of Gandapur fired upon party supporters to melt away the audience.
The defense minister also criticized PTI leaders for invoking provincialism claiming they were on a pattern of adaptive division created about the former military ruler Ayub Khan and his relatives.