PTI’s Imran Khan is only a couple of hours away from kicking off his much anticipated long march on Islamabad from Lahore. It begins on a good note and it begins on a few bad notes.

Good that PTI supporters arrived at Lahore’s Liberty Chowk before the appointed hour on Friday. The numbers are not big but not dismal either, since 11am is a bit too early for PTI rallies.

But it looked like a botched start from the very beginning given a few key developments:

Turns out there are many Vawdas in the PTI.

Fear of violence

Only two days before the launch, party leader Faisal Vawda held a press conference and claimed that he was seeing a bloodbath at the march. Shah Mahmood Qureshi and other leaders termed his prediction an attempt to sabotage the march. The mere possibility that the march may prove a bloodied event, could drive away the majority of supporters.

Unlike many other regions, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa — the power bases of PTI — never developed a proclivity for bloodied revolts. The PTI has sought an oath from its supporters to render “all sorts of sacrifices” but the mere mention of a sacrifice seems alarming. Over the weekend, Imran Khan had to promise enjoyment to supporters at the march to ward off fears.

So, Vawda’s words had huge ramifications.

Then just hours before the start of the march, Sardar Khurram Laghari announced that he was quitting the party with five to six other MPAs in Punjab. Although he said he supported the march and would lead at least 400 workers to Islamabad, the announcement was seen as a blow to the Punjab government, whose support for the march is crucial.

A third development was a feeble press conference from PTI Senator Azam Swati.

Retreat?

In the context of Pakistani politics, a long march is one of the most aggressive forms of protest. Imran Khan and his PTI epitomized aggression until two days ago, with Senator Azam Swati threatening to name names over his arrest and what he called his custodial torture.

Imran Khan had been saying that Swati was stripped in custody and humiliated like Shahbaz Gill before him. Khan said some “Dirty Harry” was behind these episodes of torture.

The PTI Senator was supposed to name the persons behind his ordeal at the press conference he held Friday morning and he did. But he left without taking questions from reporters, saying he was doing so on the advice o his lawyers.

Imran Khan’s video message before the march also marked a break from his aggressive tone. He said the march was not aimed at overthrowing a government or installing a new one.

PTI plans to hold a rally in Islamabad’s H-8, around 12 km away from the Red Zone, Asad Umar told a press conference on Friday.

They are not aiming for the famous D-Chowk, which PTI protesters occupied in 2014.

Default tone

And so it seems that everything but a march could precipitate fresh elections — something the PTI leadership desired.

Such a protest would hardly wrinkle any brows in the corridors of power.

ISI Chief Lt. General Nadeem Anjum and military spokesperson Lt. General Babar Iftikhar indicated on Thursday that the Establishment did not plan to stop the march as long as it was peaceful.

They said peaceful protest was a democratic right that every Pakistani could exercise and the military would support the government if it called it in under Article 245.

However, it remains to be seen if Khan’s passive tone switches back to its default aggressive mode once he sees a large number of people joining the march.

We can’t know that until the march leaves Lahore tomorrow, Saturday.

This is a developing story