Pakistan

Politics back on boil as Imran resumes march

PTI chief questions partiality of Wazirabad probe

Imran Adnan November 06, 2022

LAHORE:

PTI chief Imran Khan on Sunday announced that his party will be returning to the streets to resume its long march on Islamabad, which was disrupted after an attempt on his life, from Tuesday (tomorrow) — exactly from the point he brushed with death three days ago.

The former prime minister made the announcement in a video broadcast live on social media from Shaukat Khanum Hospital, Lahore, where he was receiving treatment after being shot in the leg during the protest march on Thursday in Wazirabad.

“Our march will resume on Tuesday from the place in Wazirabad where I and 11 other people were shot, and where Moazzam was martyred,” Imran announced, citing the name of PTI worker Moazzam Gondal, who was killed in the attack.

Shortly, Press conference of Chairman PTI @ImranKhanPTI will be live on YouTube.
Link 👉🏻 https://t.co/Hp5YDTQENO #عمران_خان_ہماری_ریڈ_لاین_ہے
— PTI (@PTIofficial) November 6, 2022

The former prime minister survived the assassination attempt on Thursday with bullet wounds in the incident, rocking the nation already racked by turmoil due to political instability, and triggering nationwide protests against the attack.

However, the wounded PTI chief during the address said he would not join in person while he recovered from his wounds but will do so when the convoy reaches Rawalpindi, which is expected in the next 10-14 days.

“3 days have passed and still FIR has not been lodged. If we ask to name Maj Gen Faisal in the FIR, every officer refuses to do it”-@ImranKhanPTI #حقیقی_آزادی_مارچ pic.twitter.com/Hvn0EN3UoF
— PTI (@PTIofficial) November 6, 2022

Nonetheless, Imran will address the marchers every day as he urged people to take to the streets and participate in the march.

The PTI chief welcomed the offer by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to launch a judicial commission to investigate the attack but questioned whether the inquiry would be impartial.

Read: 'No drop in political temperature': Rashid says Imran's long march temporarily halted not over

Imran bemoaned the reluctance of the Punjab police to register an FIR of the incident and pointed out that despite the fact that his party was at the helm of affairs in the province, it could not get an FIR registered even as three days have passed since the incident.

“[The] FIR hasn’t been registered because they [the police] say we are ready to register a case against the PM and [interior minister] Rana Sanaullah but not Major General Faisal Raheem,” he claimed.

He also doubled on his allegations that the prime minister, interior minister and the top general of the army were behind the attack on the container.

“I fully believe that these three have done this [attack] through a conspiracy. It’s my right [to register case]. I’m the leader of the biggest political party and ex-PM and if I can’t get his name in the FIR then I ask what [rights can be expected] for the nation and for the common man?”

ابھی حملے کی بات شروع ہوئی تو ایک مخصوص صحافیوں وقار ستی، مرتضی سولنگی، حامد میر وغیرہ نے مہم شروع کر دی کہ عمران خان نے توہین مذہب کر دی۔ حکومت ہماری لیکن حملہ آوور کا انٹرویو کر کے لیک کر دیا گیا، پولیس کہتی پیچھے سے پریشر، آئی جی کہتا ہیک ہوگی۔ عمران خان#حقیقی_آزادی_مارچ pic.twitter.com/FsIJlvOiT1
— PTI (@PTIofficial) November 6, 2022

Lamenting that there were people in the country who were considered above the law, Imran asked whether this practice was allowed by the constitution and demanded a transparent investigation while maintaining that only a probe would determine the truth.

It is pertinent to note that on Thursday, following the attack on Imran in Wazirabad, PTI General Secretary Asad Umar in a video statement had said that the party chief had named three suspects, who he believed were behind the gun attack on the long march.

The former minister said the PTI chief was certain that the men who had planned the attack were Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and Major General Faisal Naseer.

The former premier further said he wanted the top court of the land to constitute a judicial commission on journalist Arshad Sharif’s murder in Kenya under mysterious circumstances.

"Everyone knows who killed the journalist. The court should ask his [Arshad Sharif's] mother, fellow journalists and colleagues, who know everything. Impartial investigations would unveil who forced the journalist to leave Pakistan and later compelled to leave the UAE."

تحریک انصاف کے چیئرمین عمران خان آج پریس کانفرنس کریں گے، امید ہے آج شام تک انھیں ہسپتال سے گھر منتقل ہونے کی اجازت مل جائیگی تاہم ابھی تک ڈاکٹرز نے انھیں ہسپتال سے ڈسچارج نہیں کیا، رائیونڈ کے دعائیہ اجتماع کے پیش نظر آج احتجاج کی کال معطل کر دی گئ ہے
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) November 6, 2022

During the address, Imran also brought up the matter of the cipher and asked the Supreme Court to conduct an inquiry into it.

He said the National Assembly had sent a copy of the cipher to the top court for investigation “but I am unable to understand why the probe is not yet started. It is a very important matter.”

“The National Security Committee (NSC) has already sent démarche. There is no reference of any such cipher in any democracy of the world in which an ambassador is told to remove your country’s prime minister,” he said and questioned the ISPR for terming it a ‘drama’.

The court should initiate an investigation and tell the nation that either it was conspiracy or intervention, he demanded.

The PTI chief also urged the apex court to conduct a judicial inquiry of details shared by Senator Azam Swati of the alleged torture meted out to him during the custody and of the video scandal case.

“Swati has decided to stage a sit-in along with fellow PTI senators in front of the Supreme Court to seek justice. Lawyers of the superior would also join them as blackmailing of the state institution has touched its peak. The credibility of the judicial system is at stake and the judiciary has to implement the rule of law in the country,” Imran added.