PTI announces nationwide protests from August 5
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has called nationwide protests against the federal government on August 5, the day PTI supremo Imran Khan was imprisoned a year ago.
Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Omar Ayub Khan, former National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser and Sheikh Waqas Akram accused the government of retaliating against assembly members in response to a Supreme Court decision on reserved seats.
Imran Khan was detained in Lahore on August 5 last year after a court condemned him in the Toshakhana case; he has been in prison ever since. He is currently incarcerated in Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail, facing numerous cases.
During the press conference Omar Ayub called on the public to oppose inflation and the "illegal" imprisonment of the PTI founder. He assailed the government's severe treatment of opposition legislators, pointing out that their MNAs were picked up by agencies and brought before anti-corruption bodies. He mentioned five intelligence agencies, but did not specify which agency was responsible for these operations.
The PTI’s secretary general pointed out that all of his associates had been exposed to legal proceedings, which he attributed to the affidavits they had presented to join the PTI. He accused the PML-N of aiming to pit the country's major political party against the army, emphasising that early elections are the only way to resolve the current instability.
He added that the party will decide on a probable sit-in at D-Chowk during a meeting to be held soon.
Speaking on the occasion, Asad Qaiser decried what he described as a harsh crackdown on PTI supporters. He questioned the prestige of parliament, claiming that if legislators are humiliated in this manner there will be no respect for the institution.
He requested the Supreme Court to take suo motu notice of the crackdown on party MNAs in the wake of the reserved seats ruling. He indicated that decisions on protests would be made during the party conference, with preparations for major nationwide demonstrations on August 5.