A ‘last appeal’ for protest is issued by Imran, the PTI, on November 24.
PTI Chairman Imran Khan addressed the nation in May 2023 following his release from the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) custody.
Imran Khan, the founder of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), made a “final call” for a demonstration in Islamabad on November 24, according to reports on Wednesday. In his statement, Khan condemned what he referred to as the “stolen mandate,” the “unjust arrests” of individuals, and the government’s efforts to enact the 26th constitutional amendment bill the previous month.
Imran’s party has been holding demonstrations all around the country since his detention in August 2023 on multiple counts. These demonstrations are in support of his release and against the alleged “rigging” of the elections that took place on February 8th, 2024.
Leaders of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) have regularly faced arrests and detentions since the events of May 9, 2023, primarily for leading demonstrations across the nation. For violating Section 144, authorities arrested some of the most prominent leaders of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and took them into custody from outside the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi. However, an official warning swiftly led to their release.
The police in Punjab last month detained several leaders and activists of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for their participation in demonstrations. The police took the top leadership of the party and eleven members of the National Assembly into custody in September, but later released them.
Similarly, the police detained his sisters Aleema Khan and Uzma Khan, along with a dozen party workers, for allegedly leading a demonstration in Islamabad a month ago. Both of them received bail, leading to their release from custody.
Speaking to journalists after meeting Imran in Adiala Jail on Wednesday, Aleema said that the final call for protest was for everyone, including PTI ticket holders, members of parliament, and workers and supporters of the party.
“This is the moment when you will have to decide [whether] you want to live under martial law or live with freedom,” Imran reportedly said.
Aleema went on to say that Imran has addressed his call to four categories of people—farmers, lawyers, civil society, and students—who should come out to protest for their rights.
Speaking on the 26th Amendment being enacted as law, she quoted Imran as saying, “All of your rights have been taken away; the Supreme Court has been occupied, and the current conditions are even worse than previous martial laws.”
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has been holding a series of demonstrations across the country throughout the month of October.
On October 4, hundreds of PTI activists, including senior leaders, gathered at various locations in the capital during the last protest for Islamabad, defying heavy police blockades and road closures.
Authorities had dug trenches and placed iron nails on a stretch of the Islamabad-Peshawar motorway to prevent protesters from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from reaching the capital. Despite these hurdles, PTI workers had managed to reach D-Chowk amid heavy rain.
Before retracting their claims, PTI had stated that Rangers had arrested KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, who was a member of the protest caravan, from KP House.
After a mysterious day-long disappearance, he resurfaced in Peshawar as he arrived at the KP Assembly in the evening to address the lawmakers there.
PTI called off its announced D-Chowk protest for October 15 on the eve of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit after assurances of a medical check-up for Imran.
On November 8, 14 people, including eight cops, were injured when clashes erupted between the police and PTI supporters in Quetta.
The clashes occurred after the administration cancelled permission for the party to hold a rally at Railway Hockey Ground to demand the release of Imran, citing security threats.
Call for chaos and provocation.
Reacting to Imran’s call for protest, PPP Vice President Senator Sherry Rehman condemned the move, terming it “a call for chaos and provocation” rather than a protest.
“We have also held peaceful protests but never told workers to kill or die,” Rehman said in a statement on Wednesday.
She asked for an explanation regarding the purpose behind the “so-called final and decisive protest.”
She said, “Those who ordered workers to go out with a shroud on their heads should fear God,” adding that despite the hanging and murder of PPP leaders, they never called for violent protests.
Rehman concluded by saying that Imran wants chaos and is using workers as “political fuel for his release.”.
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