ISLAMABAD: Controversy over its failure to hold a protest march continues to plague the PTI, with the fallout suggesting differences within its leadership over who is to blame for the botched mobilisation, even as party leaders continued to publicly deny any disarray.

With questions mounting, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja turned to social media on Sunday to play down talk of a `disagreement` during a meeting of the party`s core committee and to answer the allegations made against Sohail Afridi, the nonfunctional chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

`There should be no ambiguity,` Mr Raja wrote onX, calling Mr Afridi `a brave young man` who has stayed steadfast with the ideology of PTI founder Imran Khan. He said, however, that the administrative aspects of the protest march needed to be critically reviewed to counter the `narratives` being propagated against Mr Afridi.

He accused critics of presenting core committee discussions `out of context` and distorting them as part of `conspiratorial narratives`.

Meanwhile, a senior party leader who attended the meeting and spoke to Dawn on condition of anonymity, painted a less rosy picture. The leader said the party`s core committee meetings had started to discuss why the protest march failed and that the discussion was still ongoing. `On Saturday night, the meeting started after 10pm and ended after 2am. As many as 16 members of the committee got an opportunity to speak, and the remaining will speak in upcoming sessions,` he said.

`At the outset, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar said the meeting was called to discuss the current situation and the way forward. However, Raja suggested that they first discuss how the date for the protest march, Sept 27, was announced, the leader added.

`During the meeting, it was revealed that in August, Afridi had called a meeting in KP which was attended by Gohar, Raja, Asad Qaiser, Shafiullah Jan, Mina Khan, Shahid Khatak andTaimur Jhagra,` he said.

Afridi had announced that the march would be held on Sept 27, but this information was leaked to some vloggers subsequently. When criticism started that it had not been discussed in the political committee and core committee, the meetings of both committees were called on the same day, and in the evening Afridimadetheannouncement at a public meeting.

The insider further disclosed that the leadership was kept in the dark regarding the operational strategy for the protest and the party`s broader negotiation tactics.

`It was also revealed that Afridi was asked a number of times what the plan was, but he kept his cards close to his chest, he said.

`The meeting also heard that the PTI teamhad decided to walk out over the issue of terrorism, and when they realised it could trigger criticism, it was decided to use the name of Imran Khan and a meeting with him.

The leader said that during the meeting, Raja asked Ali Asghar Khan, son of the late Air Marshal Asghar Khan, why the party did not hold the protest march after Afridi`s arrest.

Ali Asghar Khan, who is PTI secretary general in KP and head of the coordination committee for the protest march, said he was not aware of any such plans.

`Asghar claimed that he had asked Afridi and Junaid Akbar many times, but they said details would be shared soon, the leader said.

`It annoyed many members of the core commit-tee, as they said more than 1,400 workers and leaders were arrested under the Maintenance of Public Order law, but PTI in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa did not have any plan.

Another leader said Haleem Adil Sheikh confessed that the opposition was 70 per cent responsible and the government 30pc responsible for the failure of talks.

`The agreement was finalised as Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi brought an amendedagreement that both sides agreed to without meeting Imran Khan,` he said.

`Soon after that, a call also came from Afridi to say that the meeting could not be held without first consulting Imran Khan.

The committee also discussed reports claiming that Barrister Gohar had given approval to establish offices of TTAP at the district level, the leader claimed.

`Raoof Hasan objected and asked how it was possible, and Barrister Goharsaid that he did not give any such approval.

The source further claimed that during the meeting, Seemabia Tahir suggested that the party should gofor another protest march, but a majority of the members said that it was not possible during the current circumstances.

When contacted for a response, PTI Central Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram declined to comment on the matter.