- If we decide to take revenge, you [coalition govt] won’t be able to bear it, warns KP CM
- Junaid Akbar reveals PTI founder will soon give another call for protest after preparations
SWABI: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan said on Saturday that political stability is a prerequisite for economic stability and there will be no political stability if the judiciary is not independent, regretting that public mandate given to PTI was stolen in the darkness of the night on Feb 8, 2024.
The PTI chairman remarked while addressing the party’s power show in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s (KP) Swabi. The former ruling party is observing a “Black Day” against alleged rigging in the general election last year. PTI claimed that their mandate was stolen during elections on the same day last year while the ruling coalition denies the allegations.
A number of PTI leaders and workers have been arrested in Multan, Muzaffarabad and other cities as the PTI party held rallies nationwide on the first anniversary of last year’s controversial elections.
Addressing the Swabi Jalsa, Barrister Gohar reiterated his party’s claim saying: “We had won elections across Pakistan, but our mandate was stolen in the darkness of the night [during the polls].”
Speaking on the occasion, the PTI chairman stressed the need for the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law. He said: “There will be political stability if the judiciary is independent.”
Moving on to the stalled talks between the PTI and the ruling coalition, he said that the former ruling party entered the negotiation process in light of the direction of the incarcerated former prime minister Imran Khan.
“Imran Khan directed to initiate talks for the sake of the country,” he added.
Barrister Gohar said that numerous cases were filed against Imran, however, the public never lost their faith in the part founder.
“God willing, Imran will also be out in front of you,” Gohar said.
Addressing the Swabi rally, PTI Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram alleged that the election “mandate was stolen” by the government so that it could pass the 26th amendment.
“It was done so the judges could be exploited. So they could appoint judges by themselves and get the decisions they want,“ he said while quoting party founder Imran Khan.
PTI backed out of the dialogue process last month as the government did not accept their key demands about setting up judicial commissions to probe the May 9, 2023 incidents and the Nov 26, 2024 police crackdown against its workers in Islamabad.
Addressing the rally, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur warned that if his party decided to take revenge then the ruling coalition “won’t be able to bear it”. He said that Pakistan would suffer if hatred increased.
CM Gandapur said his party wanted the rule of law and the supremacy of the Constitution in the country.
The KP CM said that the green part of the PTI’s flag represented peace, according to which they had led their party so far.
“Along with the colour of peace, we have the colour of blood as well, the colour of revolution,” he said.
“If we grab this side [of the flag] then you won’t be able to bear it,” Gandapur said.
While riling up the PTI workers in the rally, CM Gandapur then started chanting: “’Khoon ka badla khoon’ (blood for blood).”
CM Gandpaur while quoting Imran said that the party was ready for negotiations, however, if the government was not, “then remember that we also know how to respond”.
PTI KP Chapter President Junaid Akbar revealed that the incarcerated PTI founder will soon give another call for protest. He said the PTI workers, through the massive public gathering, conveyed a message that they were not tired of protests.
Talking about the PTI’s next protest, he said: “We will take to streets with preparations to face bullets.”
He, however, clarified that they did not want confrontation with institutions.
Earlier, PTI caravans from various cities of KP have set out for Swabi, with senior PTI leader Taimur Saleem Khan Jhagra among them. In a post on X, he said: “I have two demands: release of Imran, [and] reparations for the injustice done to the public mandate.”
The former KP minister asserted that he was neither interested in a designation nor any role, adding that he would not be a party to a politician who “plays both sides”.
The PTI also has a live broadcast airing on its X account, purportedly showing supporters gathering at the venue for its Swabi power show.
