PTI to launch anti-govt movement from April 13

Rally in Pishin will be held under the aegis of new grand alliance of opposition parties

ISLAMABAD:

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) would hold a big public rally in Balochistan on April 13 under the aegis of a newly-formed “grand alliance of the opposition parties” to launch a mass movement against the incumbent government, the party announced on Friday.

The April 13 rally in the Pishin district of Balochistan was discussed in the PTI core committee meeting. “The PTI and the allied parties will jointly launch a public movement from the platform of the grand alliance and the first big public gathering will be held on April 13 in Pishin,” said a statement.

The PTI is in alliance with the parties, which had reservations to the results of the February 8 elections, including the Balochistan National Party (BNP), Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP), Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), Muttahida Wahdat al-Muslimeen (MWM) and others.

The parties have agreed that PkMAP chief Mahmood Khan Achakzai head the alliance, and he would also contact Maulana Fazlur Rahman, the head of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) to convince him to join the alliance. After the meeting with Fazl, the formal announcement of the alliance will be made.

Also read: Govt behind ‘poisonous’ letters to judges, alleges PTI

Meanwhile, the PTI core committee condemned the re-arrest and remand of the party’s women activists, especially Alia Hamza and Sanam Javed, following the grant of bail to them by a court. The meeting also demanded immediate release of all the leaders including Imran Khan and his wife.

The committee also condemned the postponement of Senate elections in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), terming it an open violation of the Constitution. The participants also condemned the harassment of high court judges through suspicious letters, and demanded “drastic action” against the perpetrators.

The meeting demanded of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to restore the PTI’s electoral symbol of ‘bat’ following the intra-party elections. The statement said that after intra-party elections, there was no justification for the ECP to deprive the party of its electoral symbol.