Sit-in protest movement is alive and well

 

‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath’ on Thursday

KARACHI: Imran Khan has made his position clear. He said that if his party opts for street protests and sit-ins this time round, it is going to be a much more powerful protest than the one the PTI staged a couple of years ago, said Shahzeb Khanzada on Geo News programme, ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath’, on Thursday.

Imran said that even if other parties of the opposition do not join the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf in its street protest, these parties do support the stance of the PTI. On the other hand, Tahir-ul-Qadri is all set to lead a sit-in protest on Friday.

In a different segment of the programme, Shahzeb Khanzada said that another video of Dr Asim has been released in which former president Asif Ali Zardari has been targeted. He said that Dr Asim’s lawyer, while rejecting these videos, said that Dr Asim does not have any memory about the video. 

Shahzeb said that Dr Asim’s video has appeared at a time when it has now been exactly a year when Asif Zardari issued a statement and then after a week he left the country and has not returned yet.

In a yet different segment of the programme, Shahzeb Khanzada said by-elections have been postponed because the Election Commission is incomplete. Four members of the Election Commission have retired four days ago after having completed their tenures. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has not yet sent the names to the leader of the opposition for appointment of members of Election Commission.

Shahzeb Khanzada said that the US presidential hopeful Donald Trump has continuously been indulging in politics of hatred. Donald Trump has been calling for search of mosques and a ban on the entry of Muslims into the USA. US President Barack Obama has given Donald Trump a cold shoulder in this regard.

Meanwhile, a PPP leader, Qamar Zaman Kaira, while talking to Shahzeb Khanzada on the programme, said that a transparent inquiry into the PanamaLeaks is a must. He said that the matter of the TORs has been deadlocked.

Qamar Zaman Kaira said that if the government continues to delay the matter, then the combined opposition would have no option but to announce its next plan of action. The PPP leader said, “Some parties had a different view on the demand for the prime minister’s resignation, but the very same parties are with us on the matter of TORs. We will try our level best to maintain unity of the opposition. We will also say this to Imran Khan that the opposition’s strength lies in cohesion.”

A leader of the Pakistan Awami Tehreek, Khurram Nawaz Gundapur, told Shahzeb Khanzada that Awami Tehreek’s sit-in and its protest after Eid are two separate matters. He said that June 17 has a symbolic value for the Pakistan Awami Tehreek. It has been two years since the tragedy of Model Town took place, but nobody has been punished yet. The Awami Tehreek is seeking justice for the martyrs of Model Town.  “We will commemorate June 17 until we get justice,” he said.

Khurram Nawaz Gundapur said that an application for erecting barriers in Model Town was filed in the high court by the people of the area and not by Tahir-ul-Qadri. The Pakistan Awami Tehreek leader said that as a result of an intra-court appeal, the SP of Model Town had selected the spots where the barriers were to be erected. Only then had the Pakistan Awami Tehreek erected the barriers.

He said that the sit-in would be totally peaceful. A leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, Rana Sanaullah, told Shahzeb Khanzada on the programme that a policy to provide security to the Pakistan Awami Tehreek sit-in had been evolved.

Rana Sanaullah said he still stands by his decision to remove the barriers, and that the decision was based on a report of the intelligence and law-enforcement agencies. He said that private people do not have the permission to erect barriers.

The lawyer of Dr Asim, Anwar Mansoor Khan, said that Dr Asim rejects the video. Anwar Mansoor Khan said that the videos have been released in order to divert people’s attention from PanamaLeaks.

A leader of the MQM, Wasim Akhtar, said that the Election Commission was complete when the notification for postponement of by-elections was issued. He said the government was exhibiting its incompetence over the issue of the Election Commission. He said that both the PPP and PML-N were not interested in holding local government elections.

A leader of the PTI, Fawad Chaudhry, said that according to the Constitution, by-elections must be held within 60 days. The government does not give any importance to the Constitution. He said that the Election Commission took the decision of postponement of by-elections before June 12 when the Election Commission was functional.