ISLAMABAD: Upping the ante against the ruling coalition, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has announced to stage protests across the country on August 5, with demands for its founder Imran Khan's release and relief for inflation-weary masses.
The former ruling party has been calling for Imran's release, who has been behind bars for over a year. The deposed prime minister was arrested in Lahore on August 5, 2023, after a court sentenced him to three years in prison for illegally selling state gifts.
The protest call was made by PTI stalwart Asad Qaiser during a press conference on Sunday, jointly addressed by the party's Secretary General Omar Ayub Khan and others in Islamabad.
"August 5 is when the PTI founder was arrested. Imran Khan will complete a year in captivity on the comping August 5. We will stage protests on that day," Qaiser said while referring to the deposed prime minister's arrest in the Toshakhana case.
Condemning the indiscriminate crackdown against the party, the former National Assembly speaker alleged that the PTI lawmakers and social media activists were currently facing a vicious witch-hunt.
"This crackdown is being done after the Supreme Court's verdict [on the reserved seats]," he said, urging the apex court to take a suo motu notice on the matter.
The Supreme Court, in its short order on July 12, allowed the PTI to receive seats in the assemblies reserved for women and minorities.
In the landmark ruling, the apex court directed the PTI to submit a list of its eligible candidates for reserved seats to the electoral body within 15 days of the verdict.
The ECP should then publish the list of reserved seats of the candidates on its website within seven days, the SC ruling stated.
However, the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) filed a review petition against the SC ruling declaring the PTI eligible for the reserved seats.
As the authorities continue to round up PTI leaders and activists in different cases, Qaiser said that "baseless cases" against them should be stopped.
He alleged that "41 MNAs are being forced to quit the party". He censured that the parliament would lose its superior status if parliamentarians were being insulted in such a way.
"We also invite all political parties to sit with us against the imposition of a ‘fake and mandate-less government’”.
Meanwhile, PTI Secretary General Omar alleged that the incumbent government continued to mistreat the party’s lawmakers and that the party workers and leaders were being made to disappear.
“Cases are being lodged against Sheikh Waqas and his aides. We strongly condemn this fascism,” he added.
The leader of the opposition in the National Assembly said that his party would hold a key session to decide on future strategy as a sit-in on D-Chowk, Islamabad, was on the cards alongside other options.
He reiterated that a fresh election was the only remedy to all issues in the country.
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