PTI founder Imran Khan has issued a “final call” for a protest in Islamabad on November 24, denouncing what he described as the “stolen mandate”, the “unjust arrests” of people, and the government’s push to pass the 26th constitutional amendment bill last month, it emerged on Wednesday.
Since his arrest in August 2023 on several counts, Imran’s party has been holding protests across the country for his release, and against the alleged “rigging” of the 2024 elections on February 8.
Since the events of May 9, 2023, PTI leaders have faced arrests and detentions from time to time, mostly for leading protests in the country. A day ago, some top PTI leaders were taken into custody from outside Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail for violating Section 144 but were released shortly afterwards after being issued a warning.
Last month, police arrested several PTI leaders and activists across multiple districts of Punjab for holding protests. In September, the party’s top leadership, along with 11 MNAs, were apprehended but released later.
Similarly, his sisters Aleema Khan and Uzma Khan, together with a dozen party workers, were arrested for allegedly leading a protest in Islamabad last month. Both were released after obtaining bail from a court.
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,” she quoted Imran as saying.
“You used your right [to vote] on February 8…. but the next day, the foundation you had laid for democracy was stolen,” she further quoted Imran as saying.
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.”
This call for protest comes after a series of protests by PTI nationwide throughout October.
During the last protest called for Islamabad on October 4, hundreds of PTI activists, including senior leaders, gathered at multiple locations in the capital after 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.
PTI had claimed KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, who was part of the protest caravan, was arrested by Rangers from KP House before retracting their claims.
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 Organisation (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.”
“Those who ordered workers to go out with a shroud on their heads should fear God,” she said, adding that despite PPP leaders being hanged and murdered, they never issued calls for violent protests.
Rehman concluded by saying that Imran wants chaos and is using workers as “political fuel for his release”.
‘PTI trying to start armed struggle’
PML-N leader Rana Sanaullah accused Imran of planning to start an “armed struggle” against the government.
Speaking on a private news channel yesterday, Sanaullah said: “It can be ascertained from the statements of the PTI founder that run in the media and newspapers ….. that they are planning to start a struggle, an armed struggle against the government.”
When asked who were the people trying to start the “armed struggle”, Sanaullah said, “All of you are seeing the people who go and meet him every day and then come out and give statements on this.”
He also referred to KP CM Gandapur’s speech at the Swabi jalsa earlier this week, saying that the rhetoric used there “indicated that they are planning an armed struggle”.