ISLAMABAD: To demand the release of its imprisoned founder Imran Khan, the PTI has once again called for nationwide demonstrations, possibly involving a sit-in outside the Parliament House.
Last Friday, the party had said that it would hold a similar protest in the federal capital, but on the guidance of the Islamabad High Court, it withdrew its plans at the last minute.
PTI leaders Omar Ayub Khan, Asad Qaiser, Sheikh Waqas Akram, and others announced the planned new rallies during a news conference on Sunday.
According to Mr. Qaiser, the PTI planned to host mass gatherings around the nation on August 5 and was also considering holding a sit-in at D-Chowk.
Security agencies may face difficulties if the party proceeds with its planned protest in Islamabad because Jamaat-i-Islami, which is now staging a sit-in in Rawalpindi in opposition to inflated electricity rates, also intends to move its protest to D-Chowk.
Party organizers allege an MNA from Mandi Bahauddin was “picked up” when they announced statewide rallies on August 5.
Currently, the party has not issued a firm invitation to demonstrate at D-Chowk, though Mr. Ayub has alluded to the prospect of a demonstration at the location of the PTI’s 126-day sit-in in 2014.
PTI MNA was “picked up.”
The PTI leaders also asked the Supreme Court to consider the party’s recent media team and member arrests.
The PTI leaders, said to Mr. Ayub, were “picked by intelligence agencies.”
Referring to the Mandi Bahauddin legislator for the party, the PTI leader stated, “Two days ago, MNA Haji Imtiaz was picked up and kept in Sargodha.”
Mr. Akram said he was even refused home-cooked food and that the authorities were preventing anyone from meeting Mr. Imtiaz.
The PTI leader addressed security personnel, calling them state employees and forewarning them that although the government “will collapse soon,” they would still need to reside in the nation.
According to Mr. Ayub, PTI leaders were being selected because they had provided the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) with affidavits attesting to their party loyalty.
The Supreme Court has ordered the MNAs who were part of the PTI but ran as independent candidates in the general elections on February 8 and won to file properly signed and notarized statements before the ECP within 15 days, explaining that they had run as candidates of a specific political party, in this case the PTI.
Mr. Ayub added that Sheikh Waqas Akram, the leader of the PTI, has a mother who is the target of legal action.
Mr. Qaiser called Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif “fascists” and declared that the PTI was prepared for chaos in the nation if that was what the government desired.In addition, he made a statement regarding the events of May 9, asserting that everyone is now aware that the violent incidents were “a drama and conspiracy against PTI.”
