- Salman Akram Raja says party will launch anti-govt movement from Friday
- Omar Ayub terms Sept 9 ‘black day’, claiming ‘masked men whisked away several lawmakers from parliament
- Imran-founded party to continue its political struggle, legal battle: Asad Qaiser.
PESHAWAR: A day of ‘arrest spree’ in which more than a dozen lawmakers of the party were arrested from the Parliament House in Islamabad, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Tuesday vowed to launch a vehement anti-government movement across the country.
“Certain elements have manipulated Pakistan’s political and democratic systems, but the PTI will not back off in the face of attempts to silence the voice of the people”, PTI General Secretary Salman Akram Raja declared while addressing a press conference in Peshawar on Tuesday.
“There should be no misunderstanding as people have stood up,” he added.
PTI leaders, including Omar Ayub Khan, Asad Qaiser and Azam Swati were also present at the presser held after the party’s core committee meeting.
He defended the speeches made by PTI leaders during the recent Islamabad rally, describing the event’s atmosphere as fundamentally different from regular political discourse.
The PTI leaders party strongly condemned the lawmakers’ arrests, including the detention of some MNAs from the parliament, in a police crackdown on its leadership in Islamabad launched on alleged violations of the public gathering law’s violations.
At the beginning of the press conference, journalists protested over Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur’s remarks against the newsmen during his explosive speech at the Sangjani power show two days ago.
Journalists questioned why the KP chief executive was absent from the press conference for whom Omar had assured that he would tender an apology for his indecent remarks. Raja replied that CM Gandapur had to attend an important session of the assembly.
Addressing the press conference, Ayub, who is also the Opposition Leader in the National Assembly, slammed the coalition government for using all tactics to stop his party’s Islamabad public gathering.
He went on to say that the ruling parties in the coalition government levelled false allegations against the Imran-founded party and jailed its leaders.
Condemning the arrests of the PTI leaders in a police crackdown yesterday, Ayub termed September 9 a “black day” and claimed that “masked whisked away several party leaders” besides arresting MNA Sher Afzal Marwat and Shoaib Shaheen.
PTI senior leader Asad Qaiser, in the press conference, announced that his party will fight for its rights on the streets besides continuing its legal battle in the courts. He demanded the release of PTI founder Imran Khan and other party inmates.
The former National Assembly speaker also demanded fresh elections in the country and termed the incumbent government “illegitimate”.
He suggested that contempt of court cases should be filed against the Islamabad police chief and commissioner as they placed obstacles along the rally in the federal capital.
Earlier in the day, the PTI convened its core committee’s meeting at the CM House in Peshawar, which was attended by central leaders, including KP CM Gandapur.
The PTI’s core committee decided to launch nationwide protests from Friday and the party lawmakers will also take up the matter of its leaders’ arrest on the assembly floor.
