PESHAWAR: Physical and technological obstacles, coupled with the intransigence of former first lady Bushra Bibi, foiled last ditch efforts to peacefully resolve the issue of PTPs protest march towards Islamabad`s D-Chowk, credible sources familiar with behindthe-scenes efforts told Dawn.

The government also blames her for `sabotaging` the negotiations for an alternate protest venue and `orchestrating` violence by the party`s supporters.

Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif,the KP chief minister`s aide and spokesperson, confirmed that efforts had begun in earnest on Mon-day night to persuade the PTI leadership to stop short of Islamabadand divert to Sangjani located on the outskirts of the capital.

He also confirmed that the party chairman had reluctantly agreed to pass on this message to KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur.

`Khan sahib was extremely agitated and annoyed at the treatment being meted out to him in his prison cell, but after a lot of discussions that also covered the Islamabad High Court ruling, he reluctantly agreed to stop the march at the city limits,` he told Dawn.

`He (Imran) said he would leave it to party leaders to decide what to do, provided it led to solid negotiations with the government that would result in his release and the withdrawal of cases against him and other party leaders including Dr Yasmin Rashid and Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed and others.

`We made a lot of efforts to find a peaceful way to resolve the issue.

Both sides have toughened their positions. It has now entered into a critical and very sensitive phase.

One wrong move and we will have a very serious situation at hand,` Mr Saif said.

A source privy to these developments confided that there were a lot of intense efforts to broker a compromise. `Efforts were made to arrange a telephone call between the jailed party chairman and Mr Gandapur,` the source said, adding, `There were signal issues but the message was conveyed` `By the time efforts were made to re-establish contact with Ali Amin and others, the rally had already entered Islamabad. It was too late by then,` Barrister Saif told Dawn when asked about the sequence of events.

Bushra Bibi `was aggressive. Shewas defiant`, the source said, adding that she refused to listen to CM Gandapur, instead demanding that the party chairman speak to her directly through a video call, but this was not possible due to techni-caland otherissues.

Originally, the sources said, Bushra Bibi was supposed to stay back in Peshawar, but the dynamics changed completely when she suddenly decided to hop on the truckand lead the protest herself. `It made matters more complicated`, the source said, adding: `Workers were charged and they were no longer listening to Ali Amin.

According to the insider, `[Bushra] is now calling the shots and [CM Gandapurl is playing second fiddle.

The situation became more volatile when a vehicle mowed down Rangers personnel, the source said.

`There is literally an eye-ball-to-eye ball situation at D-Chowk`, the source said. `Ali Amin is under pressure. He is stucl( between a rock and a hard place.

This impression is lent credence by Bushra Bibi`s actions on Tuesday evening.In aspeechtocharged protesters camped out a few kilometres from the high-security Red Zone, she urged them to move towards D-Chowk and extolled them to take Ali Amin Gandapur along with them.

While the federal government is nervously waiting for the protesters` next move, party leaders are scrambling to figure out who to avoid the situation from further escalation, Barrister Saif said.

According to sources, the party is now `trying to figure out what thePlan-B is` Ministers blame Bushra In back-to-back press conferences on Tuesday, federal ministers accused the PTI of reneging on the agreement to hold their demonstration at Sangjani, on the outskirts of Islamabad and not enter the Red Zone.

`[T]here is a secret leadership controlling things in the bacle ground; the entire [frontline] leadership is [powerless] in front of them,` Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said, without naming Ms Bibi.

The PTI leadership wanted to talk, but `that one secret leader` sabotaged the process.

In another press conference later inthedaywithInformationMinister Atta Tarar, Mr Naqvi blamed `a woman` for the loss of life and property during the past two days.

Mr Tarar said the former PM`s wife was trailing behind in the protest while `sending children and labourers to the front lines`, who he claimed were throwing tear gas at the police.

Imran`s tweet Meanwhile, a post on Imran Khan`s official X (formerly Twitter) account again triggered a debate about whowas running his social media account during his incarceration.

In contrast to the claims put forward by Barrister Saif, the tweet from Mr Khan`s account seemed to back Bushra Bibi`s initiative and urged people to reach D-Chowk.

`My message for my team is to fight until the last ball is bowled. We will not back down until our demands are met! The post also revealed that overseas Pakistanis have been funding for the march and Mr Khan also thanked them for holding protests in different countries.

`My thanks go to overseas Pakistanis around the globe, who are not only mobilising Pakistanis and contributing funds, but also holding historic protests in their respective countries,` the tweet said.

It also called on `those who haven`t yet joined the protest` to also head to D-Chowk. `All Pakistanis participating in the protest must remain peaceful, stay united, and stand firm until our demands are met,` the tweet said.

Iftikhar A. Khan and Ikram Junaidi in Islamabad also contributed to this report