Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan on Tuesday asked his party leaders to ensure their participation in the protest called for November 24 in Islamabad or “disassociate themselves from the party”, according to a post on Khan’s official X account.
The development comes after Khan made a “final call” for a large-scale anti-government march to Islamabad on November 24.
“Everyone must join the protest on November 24th. If any PTI leader or ticket holder is not able to ensure their participation in the protest, they should disassociate themselves from the party because this is the decisive moment when the entire nation will come out for freedom. The nation will not accept any excuse at such a critical time,” the post read.
Imran, who has been incarcerated in Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail, said he had previously only called on people associated with PTI to protest, but now calling the entire nation to come out against what he called oppression.
“Come out on November 24th with the same passion that you demonstrated on February 8th, when you came out, despite all the challenges, to prove the power of your vote,” he said. “This is a golden opportunity to secure genuine freedom for Pakistan.”
Regarding disruption in the internet services in the country, Khan termed it tantamount to suppressing voice of the people.
“The repeated disruption of the internet to suppress the voice of the people has cost the country Rs550 billion this year. According to newspaper reports, internet performance in Pakistan has been limited to only 27%. All these heinous steps are only being taken to somehow crush PTI and suppress our voice,” the post read.
‘Negotiations for the sake of the country’
PTI founder said he has “always been ready for negotiations for the sake of the country”.
“Whenever we talked about negotiations with the caretaker government, they responded with fascism and put our people in jails. The sort of repression that PTI faced in the post-regime change era did not exist even under Stalin’s dictatorship.
“When we asked for timely elections, they were delayed until Nawaz Sharif returned after (Chief Justice) Qazi Faez Isa took office. In what democracy are elections delayed until hand-picked individuals are put in place? The responsibility for negotiations not taking place lies with them, not us,” Khan said in the post.
Khan also urged overseas Pakistanis to record protests in their respective countries and contribute to fund-raising for PTI.
“Overseas Pakistanis understand what genuine freedom and democracy mean. They should demand the same freedoms and rights for their fellow Pakistanis that they enjoy in their own countries.”
Govt vows stern action against ‘perpetrators’
To deal with the PTI’s protest call, the government has warned of stern action against (if any) perpetrators in the protest, according to a post on X from state-run PTV News.
“Miscreants in the protest may lose their Computerised National Identity Card (CNIC) and have their mobile Subscriber Identity Modules (SIMs),” the post read.
On Monday, the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration also imposed a ban on public gatherings in the capital for two months.
According to the notification issued by the ICT administration, reports “indicate that certain groups are planning to organise unlawful assemblies including Majalis/ processions within the jurisdiction of ICT which can disrupt public place and tranquillity”.
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