Islamabad: Jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party on Sunday announced its plans to hold a countrywide protest next month on the completion of one year of the arrest of the party’s founder, demanding his immediate release and a relief for inflation-broken masses.
The 71-year-old former cricketer-turned politician was arrested from his residence in Lahore on August 5 last year after he was convicted in the Toshakhana case which was filed by the Election Commission of Pakistan against him for hiding sale of gifts he got from the state repository.
Former National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser said that the final decision regarding the protests would be made at the party meeting but they were planning for large demonstrations across the country on August 5.
“On August 5, we will hold rallies and large demonstrations across Pakistan on two issues. First of all, August 5 is the day of Imran Khan’s arrest, he was illegally arrested in a fabricated case,” he said at a press conference.
He added that there will also be protests against inflation and the imprisonment of other PTI members.
He urged the public to join the PTI protest call against inflation and the illegal arrest of the PTI founder.
Khan’s arrest in the Toshakhana case was later suspended by the Islamabad High Court but he was not released and arrested in other cases. He is still incarcerated in Rawalpindi’s high-security Adiala Jail.
Qaiser also condemned the alleged official crackdown on the PTI lawmakers and supporters, questioning the dignity of Parliament if lawmakers were being humiliated.
He demanded the withdrawal of baseless cases against PTI members and threatened to launch nationwide sit-ins for which he also invited all parties to join them, declaring the current government as fake.
Qaisar alleged that independent candidates who won with the support of PTI were being pressured to change loyalty and switch sides. He urged the Supreme Court to take suo motu cognisance.
PTI secretary general Omar Ayub Khan said that party-backed lawmakers were being picked up by agencies and implicated in cases of alleged corruption.
He also accused the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) of trying to create a wedge between the PTI and the army to create conflict. He suggested that immediate fresh elections were the only solution to the political turmoil.
The decision to hold a protest on the first anniversary of Khan’s arrest comes after the party failed to stage a protest in Islamabad on Friday after the authorities had banned such demonstrations in the national capital.
Follow on Twitter | Posted by Marziya Sharif | 
