Imran Khan vows to reach Islamabad at all costs

PESHAWAR: Condemning the crackdown on party workers, particularly in Punjab, to prevent them from participating in the long march, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Tuesday vowed to reach Islamabad at all costs.

“We will reach Islamabad at all costs and will stay there till the dissolution of the National Assembly and announcement of date for holding free and fair elections in the country,” he told reporters at the Chief Minister’s House here.

Chief Minister Mahmood Khan, former foreign minister and PTI vice-chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Asad Umar, Pervez Khattak and many other senior members of the party were present at the press conference.

The federal government has blocked the GT Road and Motorway between Islamabad and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to stop the PTI workers from reaching the federal capital city.

Imran Khan gave the example of the Afghan people (Taliban), saying how the Afghans fought the foreign powers and forced them to flee the country. He urged the people to break the chains of fear and come out in his support of a real Azadi (freedom).

Imran Khan and the PTI central leadership have been based in Peshawar since Friday last to chalk out a strategy against the government and mobilise the party workers to ensure their participation in what they called was the Azadi March.

Khan's political opponents had accused him of using the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government resources in hatching a conspiracy against the democratically-elected government. Also, they alleged that Imran Khan had hidden in Peshawar to evade arrest by the law-enforcement authorities in Islamabad and left the party workers to suffer.

However, Imran Khan claimed they had neither victimised their political rivals during their three and a half years' rule nor lodged cases against them. He accused the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz-led federal government of using the state machinery against peaceful party workers.

Imran Khan seemed quite restless and upset over the rapidly changing situation in the country, particularly in his stronghold Punjab, where the provincial government had started a crackdown on the PTI workers and reportedly picked up dozens of activists from their homes.

About the ongoing crackdown against his party workers and a ban on their long march, which is now called the Azadi March, the former prime minister sought the assistance of the 'neutrals' saying the entire nation was looking towards them. "The neutrals, the entire nation is now looking towards you," the PTI leader said.

Though he didn't mention any name, he apparently wanted to address the judiciary when he stated that: “A judgment will be passed on you. You will also be responsible if the country goes towards destruction.” He also went on to convey his message to the state institutions, saying, "I have a message for the neutrals, judges and lawyers; it is a decisive moment. And I would like to ask the judiciary and neutrals what type of government they wanted in the country."

He said the country was looking towards the judiciary, saying it was their trial. "The country is going to look at your decisions," Imran said referring to the judiciary, saying they had not broken the law and peaceful protest "against the imported conspiracy" was their fundamental democratic right.

The former prime minister, further addressing the judiciary, asked if it would allow the alleged harassment and crackdown on their peaceful party workers to continue. "If you allow this, it would undermine the credibility of the judiciary. And it would mean there exists no democracy in Pakistan," Imran told the judiciary.

He vowed to lead his party workers in their Azadi March to Islamabad no matter what type of hurdles were created by the government to stop them. "It would be the biggest procession in Pakistan’s history and whatever hurdles they create, we would reach Islamabad,” Imran pledged.

He said he was used to such a situation, saying like the military dictators, the Sharif family had used similar hostile tactics against their political opponents in the country. "All these parties now in the government had protested against us but we never used force against them as it was their political right to raise their voice. But look at them, they lost patience and resorted to using force and state machinery to victimise our peaceful workers," the cricketer-turned-politician complained.

Interestingly, it was only two days ago when he didn’t invite media people to his press conference in Peshawar to announce his long march on Islamabad and preferred to speak before the camera of a private television channel. He didn’t even allow DSNGs of all other TV channels inside the Chief Minister’s House to cover his press conference. And on Tuesday when he started facing tough times from the government, he called all the private television channels and their cameras to raise his voice over what he called "violence of the government against his party workers."

About the Lahore situation, Imran accused the police and provincial government of harassing his workers by entering their houses during the middle of the night and picking them up without any charges against them. He also defended a retired major who is now in the custody of Punjab Police along with his son on charges of murdering a police constable, saying the police entered their house and harassed their female family members.

Imran said the incumbent chief minister of Punjab, Hamza Shehbaz, didn’t have a majority vote in the assembly, asking the Punjab Police and bureaucracy not to obey his orders. The ex-premier warned of action against them if they initiated any illegal move against them. He accused the coalition government of ruining the country’s economy in one month, saying the only solution to the current crisis was free and fair elections.

Imran feared that Pakistan could face a Sri Lanka-like situation if elections were not held immediately. “This a defining moment for the country and its fate. There is no difference between this fascist government and former military dictators,” he said.

He noted that "staying neutral" had no value, "You have to decide which side you are on. Almighty Allah has not allowed us to be in the middle, it means that you are assisting the criminals."

Imran Khan said he was not worried about his arrest or any other consequences as he was fighting for the people of Pakistan. "To me, death is better than slavery. How can I accept these people and their government as 65 per cent of the cabinet members are on bail as they are involved in mega corruption cases. And their aim in the government is to quash all the cases against them," the PTI chairman maintained.

Imran said all the people in the government had their wealth abroad and they were installed by the US by a conspiracy. He appealed to the PTI workers and particularly addressed the youth to come out of their homes and participate in the Azadi March. "If they can stop us, they should do it. No one can stop a sea of the people from reaching Islamabad," he warned.