Imran’s 'comical' Jail Bharo drive ends in 'fiasco': Marriyum

Says ex-PM forced president, NA speaker and deputy speaker to violate Constitution on pretext of 'foreign conspiracy'

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb on Wednesday said former prime minister and PTI Chairman Imran Khan's "comic show" Jail Bharo movement turned out to be a "complete fiasco".

The remarks came after the former prime minister suspended the movement following the Supreme Court's ruling in a suo motu notice over delay in the announcement of elections in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P).

The apex court ordered that elections in both assemblies should be held in the next 90 days with the chief justice saying that "democracy cannot exist without assemblies".

We welcome the SC judgement. It was responsibility of SC to uphold Constitution & they have valiantly done that through their judgement today. It is an assertion of Rule of Law in Pak. We are suspending our Jail Bharo movement & moving forward with elec campaigns in KP & Punjab.

— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) March 1, 2023

"We welcome the SC judgment. It was responsibility of SC to uphold Constitution & they have valiantly done that through their judgment today. It is an assertion of Rule of Law in Pak. We are suspending our Jail Bharo movement & moving forward with elec[tion] campaigns in KP & Punjab," Imran wrote on his Twitter handle.

Reacting to ex- premier's remarks, Marriyum tweeted that the movement would, in fact, start with Imran Khan being jailed for the crimes he committed while in government,

او بھائی!کون سی جیل بھرو تحریک؟مزاحیہ تماشہ فلاپ ہوا،تحریک اب شروع ہوگی جب تم جرائم پر جیل جاؤ گے.آئین کا تحفظ تمہارا فرض تھا جب تم نے عالمی سازش کے جھوٹ سے صدر،سپیکر، ڈپٹی سپیکر سے آئین شکنی کرائی.آئین شکن فارن ایجنٹ توشہ خان چور کا کٹہرے میں نہ آنا آئین اور قانون کا مذاق ہوگا https://t.co/rziLqNwwu3

— Marriyum Aurangzeb (@Marriyum_A) March 1, 2023

She recalled that as prime minister, it was Imran Khan’s responsibility to safeguard the Constitution, but he forced the president, and the National Assembly speaker and deputy speaker to violate the Constitution on the pretext of a "foreign conspiracy", which was a total lie.

“It will be a mockery of the Constitution and law if Imran -- the foreign agent, Toshakhana thief and violator of the Constitution -- was not brought to justice,” she added.

Read more: PTI suspends 'Jail Bharo' movement

Several PTI leaders and workers have offered their arrests since February 22, as part of the party's 'Jail Bharo' movement -- a drive that had sought to mark a protest against the government's policies and to put pressure on the government to announce elections.

However, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah on Sunday said that only around 100 people courted arrest so far, who were being detained for 30 days.

The minister said more than 80 per cent of those arrested wanted their release but he insisted that those people would be lodged in jail away from major cities such as Rawalpindi and Lahore.