Web Desk (LTN NEWS): Senior leaders of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) said on Thursday, just hours before the postponement of yet another Imran Khan rally in Karachi, that the party had regained the recent momentum to force the ruling coalition in the center to step down by Sep 10 and call for general elections.
They said that if Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his cabinet didn’t quit, the PTI would go “beyond rallies and protests” in its fight against the government.
This week, the PTI decided to hold a series of rallies across the country, starting in Karachi on August 19 and led by party chairman Imran Khan himself, to put pressure on the government to call snap elections. But on Wednesday, the day before the planned demonstration in Karachi on Thursday, the city chapter of the party said that it would be canceled.
“Due to the current weather conditions and heavy rains, the Karachi rally and chairman Imran Khan’s visit planned for August 19 have been postponed,” said the statement. The rally will now be held on August 26 and Mr. Khan will speak at it. Before, Mr. Khan’s rally in Karachi before the local bodies’ elections was canceled last month.
At a news conference at the party’s election office in the NA-245 constituency, where a by-election is scheduled for Sunday, PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry said, “Our current movement, which includes rallies in different cities, would actually go until Sep 10.” If this government doesn’t step down and call for elections by then, this movement against the government won’t end here; it will go beyond rallies. And to do that, we will come up with a complete plan.”
When asked about Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s offer to talk about an economic charter with all stakeholders, including the PTI, Mr. Chaudhry didn’t seem too interested. Instead, he called for political parties to work together on “more important issues.” He was joined by former Sindh governor Imran Ismail and the party’s candidate for NA-245, Mahmood Maulvi.
He asked for an independent group of doctors to check on party leader Shahbaz Gill’s health. “We’re also asking the courts to look into it as a matter of human rights,” he said. “The police chief and DIG of Islamabad should be called to court and asked who tortured Shahbaz Gill so badly. His health got worse, and a recent PIMS report showed that he has a serious breathing problem.
Earlier, the former minister met with the leaders of the party’s Sindh chapter and its Karachi candidates for the upcoming elections for Karachi’s local bodies.
17 cities have marathon rallies
In the meantime, the PTI announced the dates for its chairman’s marathon public meetings in 17 major cities. This was a smart way to get people involved.
Imran Khan will start his campaign on Sunday in Rawalpindi. He will then go to Haripur on August 24 and Karachi on August 26.
The plan called for rallies to be held in Sukkur on August 27, Peshawar on August 28, and Jhelum and Attock on August 29 and 31. On September 1 and 2, there would also be public meetings in Sargodha and Gujrat, as well as in Bahawalpur on September 3, Faisalabad on September 4, Mardan on September 6, and Bahawalnagar on September 7.
