Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf supporters will march to Islamabad on September 27 if “justice” is not provided to the party’s founding chairman and jailed former prime minister Imran Khan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Muhammad Suhail Afridi said on Wednesday. He made the announcement while addressing a large PTI gathering on the eve of Khan completing three years in prison.
Afridi said the party’s immediate demands are that cases against Khan and his wife be fixed for hearing and decided on merit, and that meetings with their legal team, doctors, relatives and party leaders be restored. He claimed that if justice is delivered, Khan could be released “within 30 minutes” and said the party is seeking justice, not charity.
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He said PTI would continue its struggle through constitutional and democratic means, including peaceful protests. Afridi also said supporters from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan had gathered to express solidarity with Khan, and claimed the turnout showed his continued popularity.
Referring to the completion of three years since what he called Khan’s “abduction”, Afridi alleged that the former prime minister has been kept in solitary confinement. He also alleged that Khan’s sisters were mistreated while trying to meet him in prison.
Afridi alleged that the 26th and 27th constitutional amendments had weakened the judiciary and claimed courts were no longer able to deliver justice independently. He repeated PTI’s position that Khan was removed from office through an “external conspiracy”, helped by “internal collaborators”, after he refused to compromise on Pakistan’s sovereignty.
He said Khan had sacrificed personal comfort for the country’s future and had raised the issues of Islamophobia and Muslim rights at the international level. Afridi also alleged that the regime change in April 2022 had led to economic decline and a resurgence of terrorism, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and said the province had once again become a victim of insecurity and bloodshed.
Afridi accused the current government of harming Pakistan’s relations with neighbouring countries, including Iran, Afghanistan and China. He also criticised what he described as dynastic politics and said PTI would resist any attempt to impose hereditary rule.
Saying the party had exhausted all legal and judicial forums without getting justice, Afridi said it had no option but to exercise its constitutional right to peaceful protest. He urged supporters to continue their struggle for constitutional and democratic rights and said he would lead the march to Islamabad on September 27 if the party’s demands were not met.
In sum, Afridi used the rally to renew PTI’s demands on Khan’s cases and prison access, repeat the party’s allegations against the government and judiciary, and warn of a march to Islamabad later this month if there is no movement on either front.
With PTI Inputs
– Ends
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
