PTI rally updates: Imran threatens to put Pakistan on standstill on Dec 16
9:35pm
Reacting on PTI chief’s statements, Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafiq while talking to Express News says such announcements cannot be made by a “friend of Pakistan.”
“Imran wants to spread anarchy and derail democracy in the disguise of bringing true democracy.”
PTI can do whatever it wants; we will talk to their leadership after December 16, he added.
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9:13pm
Imran announces to lockdown Lahore on Thursday, December 4 if his demand of an impartial inquiry of 2013 general elections was not met.
He added that following shutter down strikes in Faisalabad and Karachi on Dec 8 and 12, the entire country would be put to a standstill if the poll inquiry is not initiated.
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9:00pm
"If we don’t take a stand now, they [present rulers] will come in power again, and will take turns," says the PTI chief.
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8:54pm
Talking about the ongoing media campaign against him and his party, Imran says, "We will go to the court to ask why are you [Nawaz] spending taxpayers money to save your throne."
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8:50pm
"You have stolen billions of rupees of the masses, what do I call you if not a dacoit,” says Imran while referring to PM Nawaz.
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8:44pm
Imran Khan comes on stage to address his supporters.
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7:50pm
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) in Charsadda blocked the Peshawar-Islamabad motorway Sunday on Nisata interchange over the killing of their leader Dr Khalid Soomro.
The motorway remained closed till 4pm, forcing Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf workers in Charsadda to use the GT Road to move towards Islamabad.
Read the full story here.
PHOTO: MUHAMMAD JAVAID/ EXPRESS
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7:20pm
Watch a video of PTI supporters in Shabqadar chanting Go Nawaz Go.
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5:50pm
Three medical camps have been set-up at the venue of the rally, our correspondents Maha Musaddaq and Basma Siddiqui report.
“The largest camp is setup closest to the stage as that is where most people are," Dr Ambar Qureshi, Insaaf Doctors Forum Punjab told The Express Tribune.
Qureshi added a 100 people have undergone basic life support training for the rally and trained members are a part of the mobile health team that is patrolling the venue.
So far, five people with minor injuries have received first aid at the camps.
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5:30pm
Despite intelligence reports of death threats and advice to not attend the rally, K-P CM Pervaiz Khattak along with his protocol has arrived at the rally, our correspondent Qamar Zaman reports.
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4:59pm
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Operations Asmatullah Junejo said foolproof security arrangements have been made for the rally participants, Radio Pakistan reports.
Junejo added containers have been placed at key points in Islamabad's Red Zone area for security reasons.
Frontier constables deployed at the venue of the rally. PHOTO: AFP
A water canon brought from Sindh especially for the rally is parked outside the venue. PHOTO: QAMAR ZAMAN/ EXPRESS
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4:09pm
One of the major PTI convoys in Rawalpindi, comprising hundreds of vehicles, leaves party’s office to reach D-Chowk.
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3:57pm
JUI-F leaders decide to postpone their protest in Rawalpindi to avoid any untoward incident. Their party workers are currently demonstrating in Peshawar, creating hindrances for PTI convoys travelling to the federal capital.
A convoy of at least 80 vehicles, led by PTI leader Raja Muhammad Ali, leaves Rawalpindi to join the main rally in Islamabad.
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3:16pm
PTI security incharge Captain (retd) Hassan alleges Islamabad administration of creating hindrances in the way of the rally.
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3:10pm
Referring to the JUI-F protest on Peshawar interchange, PTI chief Imran accuses PM Nawaz of colluding with Maulana Fazlur Rehman to prevent PTI supporters from reaching Islamabad.
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2:43pm
Unidentified men threw shoes, eggs and tomatoes on PTI supporters in Gujranwala as they prepared to leave the city for Islamabad, Express News reports.
PTI workers reportedly caught the attackers, however, they were soon freed by their friends.
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2:17pm
PTI chief Imran Khan arrives at the venue to oversee arrangements made for the rally in Islamabad.
Express News screen grab of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan standing on the stage in Islamabad.
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2:10pm
As per intelligence reports by National Counter Terrorism Authority and National Crisis Management Cell, K-P CM Pervaiz Khattak faces death threats, our correspondent Zahid Gishkori reports from Islamabad.
This information was communicated to Khattak who was advised to not attend today’s rally.
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1:55pm
A clash broke out in Karak between supporters of PTI and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) who are protesting against the killing of their leader in Sukkur, Express News reports.
Several people are feared injured, however, the exact number of casualties is not known as yet.
JUI-F members have also blocked Peshawar Motorway Interchange as part of their protest, preventing PTI convoys from reaching Islamabad.
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1:37pm
DJ Butt, who manages the sound system in all of PTI rallies, speaks to Express News about his plans for today’s gathering.
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12:58pm
As per the rules set for the PTI rally, displaying arms and ammunition, taking fireworks and children to the rally are prohibited.
Entry into the Red Zone is also not allowed during today’s demonstration.
Despite this ban, our correspondent Zahid Gishkori says, many children are seen entering the rally venue.
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12.55pm
Around 3,000 people have already reached the venue as organisers set chairs, speakers and stage for the big show.
Though Tahirul Qadri’s Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) is not officially taking part in PTI rally, our correspondent Zahid Gishkori says a huge number of PAT workers are seen in the area.
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12.51pm
Our correspondent Zahid Gishkori reports that President of ICT Chamber of Small Traders and Industry Khalid Mehmood Mian is heading a small group of protesters who are demonstrating on Jinnah Avenue against the PTI sit-ins.
The demonstrators blame PTI sit-ins for huge losses incurred by businesses in the area.
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12:35pm
Our Islamabad correspondent Zahid Gishkori reports on main routes for convoys coming to Islamabad for the PTI rally.
According to information provided by local administration, traffic coming from Gujjar Khan, Dina, Gujranwala, Kharian, Gujrat, Sialkot and Mandi Bahauddin will enter the federal capital from Rawat Road and go through Islamabad Highway, Zero Point, Khayaban Chowk and Fazal-e-Haq Road.
Traffic coming from motorway will enter Islamabad from toll plaza 26 and go through Kashmir Highway, while vehicles coming from Murree and AJK will enter Islamabad through Bara Kahu and go through Kashmir Chowk, Aabpara and Embassy Road.
A vendor selling PTI merchandises in Islamabad. PHOTO: ZAHID GISHKORI
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12:21pm
According to our correspondent Zahid Gishkori, main roads and roundabouts are blocked in Islamabad for security reasons including Constitution Avenue, Secretariat Chowk, French Embassy Chowk, Jinnah Avenue and Aga Khan Road.
The blockades make Prime Minister House, Radio Pakistan building, Nadra offices, Diplomatic Enclave, Serena Hotel and MNA hostel inaccessible.
All vehicles will be parked in Yasmin Garden and Sports Complex – areas around three kilometres away from where the stage is set.
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12:15pm
Our correspondent from Lahore Aroosa Shaukat reports that hundreds of PTI supporters have started to leave Lahore to join the November 30 rally in Islamabad.
PTI Punjab President Ejaz Chaudhry led a convoy from Kala Shah Kaku early morning, while another convoy gathered at Qaddafi Stadium. The convoy left the venue around 11:15am and is now passing though Barkat market. The convoy will travel though the motorway.
Several PTI leaders from Punjab had already left the city yesterday fearing possible police raids to prevent them from attending Islamabad rally.
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11:58am
Reporting from D-Chowk, our correspondent Zahid Gishkori says the venue for the rally was inspected from above at 9:15am while mobile services are scheduled to be suspended in G-6, G-7 and F-6 sectors from 2pm onwards.
These sectors house Prime Minister Secretariat, Diplomatic Enclave, Melody Market, Constitution Avenue and Aabpara.
Area from The Centaurus mall on Jinnah Avenue to D-Chowk on Constitution Avenue is designated as rally venue for today.
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11:30am
Responding to anti-PTI advertisements shown on TV channels since yesterday, PTI chief Imran Khan accuses Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of spending millions of taxpayers money on advertising in a state of utter panic.
Nawaz Sharif, in a state of utter panic, is spending Rs 3 crore a day of taxpayers' money on ads against me. #BarhoKManzilQareebHai
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) November 30, 2014
Imran also calls on his supporters to join hands as PTI moves ahead with it's fight for justice.
#BarhoKManzilQareebHai Today is a defining moment for us as we carry forward our struggle for Justice, InshaAllah. pic.twitter.com/FIauRTwXGq
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) November 30, 2014
COMMENTS (49)
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@Salman: Perhaps you are mentioning ARY?
Who needs enemies when we have Imran Khan in pakistan. India must be loving all this. A nuclear country is being destablized by IK and his goons while India is on a verge of becoming a superpower in Asia! Makes me wonder if he is indeed working for them.
If you hear his speech carefully it is always "I" would do this, "I" will do that. It is quite similar to when pakistan won the world cup, he said. "I" won this, and "I" am building a hospital. He sure does love himself. It is always about him.
Enemies of pakistan will never suceed to destablize pakistan this will never happen no matter how hard they try.
I think followers of IK and IK himself need to grow up now. All this hate and chaos is not good for the country. Think Pakistan please.
well whatever! at least petrol prices goes to down to Rs 84, good job Govt and pti also. i think govt is playing more smartly than imran khan.
What idiocy. The shutdown on 4th December is purportedly to force government to agree to investigate the rigging allegations. Does Imran take the public for idiots who wont remember that government was ready to offer this on silver platter in August, on PTI's conditions, but PTI continued to act imperiously claiming not to settle fir anything less than the PM resignation. He now just wants to be arrested to save face.
Imran Khan is heading to his end, he has used mob politics to no success.People havent seen his plan A or B worked and he is talking about plan C and D.He is surrounded by people whose thinking is concrete with no flexibility to analyze things.Some how he thinks he will order people to do dharna and they will follow.Its time for Imran Khan to go back to England and spend time with his family.
Imran is doing all this just to destroy the economy of Pakistan.
His choice of date is further proof that he is a complete idiot. At least politically.
Putting Pakistan on standstill will hurt pakistan not NS or anyone else. I just can't fathom how the educated people in Pakistan can support this.
The cat is out of the bag. The government should act against everyone who threatens the state or tries to take law and order in their hands.Why does IK has to wait till 16th Dec for that. He should begin the party right now. Someone should remind this lunatic what happened in 1958,1969, 1977 & 1999. Is he ready to take the blame for his stupid behavior and its consequences.
Imran's speeches are always full of threats. Hence one more threat given by him. No problem.
Ah yes, December 16th. A historic date. I guess Imran is hoping Pakistan will surrender once again, this time to him.
OK.
A,B and C are done.
Oye, Fikar nahi, Oye.
There are 23 more alphabets to go.
The Uncle Gen. Tiger Niazi tarnished Pakistan in the entire world on 16th December, 1971 and the imbecile nephew is keeping the venerable family traditions alive and kicking.
RoImranRo NationRejectsIKAll the political Parties of Pakistan asserted that the 2013 election was fixed, however, just Imran Khan wants an examination, rest wants to spare majority rules system (Filthy Democracy).
He is desperate to get arrested and save face. Government,for once, is acting prudently in letting Imran spew out whatever gibberish he wants, so that the middle class who once thought PTI was a whiff of fresh air can see the real face of its leader - power at any cost. What is next? Idhar hum, udhar tum!
95% of nawaz sharif supporters are benefiting from the corrupt system directly or indirectly and don't want to see it go.
Will someone please "appoint" IK as PM to stop all this tamasha since he will never be "elected" PM.
IK your politics has expired! Go Imran Go
Imran's every move is to destroy the economy of Pakistan. He does not want to see a prosperous Pakistan. He wishes that no foreign investment come in Pakistan.
Imran Khan Niazi has forgotten that another Niazi has Surrendered East Pakistan on 16th December 1971
Mian Sahib, please treat this man as our enemy number. He an enemy agent who wants to repeat that fateful day.
I can't believe Imran would be so stupid to select December 16th for his final assault. Has he chosen this date deliberately or he does not know history of Pakistan. He is either playing in the hands of our enemies or he is an ignorant person. In both cases he does not deserve to be our leader.
Imran Khan has proved through his anti-state moves that he should never be elected as Prime Minister. He is unable to handle a small province. How can he handle the country.
Establishment is behind all this drama being presented by Imran Khan.
Ro Imran Ro.
Because London Plan A and B were failed now he is planning plan C but that will be miserable failed. Lets chant Go Imran Go..
Imran's speech was disappointing. Same old blames. Nothing new. He is habitual of blaming others without any evidence. He is a complete nonsense.
Imran wants to put Pakistan on standstill. He wants to do so because he is not Pakistani. He is an enemy of Pakistan. He is working on a foreign agends. Shame for him.
Entire drama is written, directed and produced by Establishment. Imran Khan is playing the lead role in this drama.
Imran is always busy in blaming, abusing and accusing others. I have never listened anything positive from his mouth.
IK is doing the dirtiest politics ever done by any politician since partition. He is an enemy of Pakistan and democracy.
Go Imran Go. Ro Imran Ro.
All my prayers and best wishes for Nawaz Sharif. Imran Khan is a puppet of Establishment.
Imran Khan is the biggest hurdle in the way towards progress. He is worse than external enemies for Pakistan. Allah bless Pakistan.
Ye Gujranwala hy dost
Its funny how Imran is questioning JUI Fazal ur Rehman's right to protest in KPK. He says JUI should go and protest in Sukkur and should not protest in KPK.
Well Mr Imran,if your logic is applied then you shouldn't protest in front of parliament, you should instead do dharna in front of Election Commision alone and no where else as ECP is responsible for conducting elections not the parliament or government or PM.
Imran Khan has finally admitted that his London Plan A & B have miserably failed and now he is really desperate and wants government to negotiate with him so he is trying his luck with Plan C & D. He is a sore looser who has damaged the economy to acheive his own selfish goals,govt should not give him any face saving!
Let’s hush and say nothing of the people who continue to steal, plunder and usurp the treasury and give absolutely nothing in return. Vote for corruption, muk-muka and dynastic politics. It’s been almost 5 decades of power for these 2 dynasties and look where they got us today. But continue to speak against someone who refuses to bow down to the “doctrine of necessity” or the “politics of compromise”.
Every constituency investigated so far has proven Khan’s accusations, every political part and her leaders continue to echo the same and yet people like you an me want him not to stand up but surrender for “the greater good of the country”. How do you plan to nourish democracy if you vote doesn't matter? Why would any representative fear backlash from his voters if he knows he can buy his way to the parliament.
These passages from Martin Luther King Jr. letter might resonate with some.
"You may well ask: "Why direct action? Why sit ins, marches and so forth? Isn't negotiation a better path?" You are quite right in calling for negotiation. Indeed, this is the very purpose of direct action. Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue. It seeks so to dramatize the issue that it can no longer be ignored. My citing the creation of tension as part of the work of the nonviolent resister may sound rather shocking. But I must confess that I am not afraid of the word "tension." I have earnestly opposed violent tension, but there is a type of constructive, nonviolent tension which is necessary for growth. Just as Socrates felt that it was necessary to create a tension in the mind so that individuals could rise from the bondage of myths and half truths to the unfettered realm of creative analysis and objective appraisal, so must we see the need for nonviolent gadflies to create the kind of tension in society that will help men rise from the dark depths of prejudice and racism to the majestic heights of understanding and brotherhood. The purpose of our direct action program is to create a situation so crisis packed that it will inevitably open the door to negotiation".
Go Imran Go!!!
People who mostly blame IK are corrupt from top to bottom with gutter mentality and want to live a slave life and most probably also beneficial of the corrupt system .
After the killing of Dr. Khalid Mahmoud Soomro in Sukkur, leader of JUI-F Sindh Chapter, Imran Khan should have postponed PTI rally in Islamabad, because JUI-F has called for a nation wide strike including blocking of all roads and high-ways. Though, this move is considered to mourn the death of JUI-Leader, but to co-incidence, it invariably goes in the benefit of PML-N by hindering the people travelling to Islamabad from the different corners of the country. The postponement of event in Islamabad would have greatly benefited PTI in gathering a mammoth public meeting in Islamabad in support of his struggle for ousting the Government of PML-N.
So it is OK when tax-payers money is spent on providing Diesel for the Dharna brought from Peshawar or to purchase biscuits, or on KP Govt Chopper or Pvt Companies Jet planes.... Come on, Give me a break!
IK should ignore Nawaz as nobody cares what Nawaz is saying. Nawaz was always a propaganda machine against Zardari and PPP, now he cannot accept that people hate him more than Zardari
Go Imran Go.
Imran Khan, truth is sour. Nation remembers all your U Turns.
Nawaz Shareef has no right to use our tax money for political defamation. The shareef khandan is a threat to the national security and integrity of Pakistan.
Sad to see the TV channels are acting as party agents and all rules of unbiased journalism have been broken....
Imran Khan has shaken up Nawaz Sharif so much that the PM of Pakistan has halted all the (corrupt) works his administration has been doing to focus all their energy and funds to prevent Imran from coming into power.