PTI to mark Nov 26 as 'Black Day'

One year after Islamabad violence, party to hold district-level protests

PESHAWAR:

The PTI has announced that it will observe 26 November as a "Black Day" to mark one year since the party's Islamabad protest turned violent.

The former ruling party has chosen not to hold a major nationwide demonstration and instead directed workers to stage protests at the regional level for the release of its incarcerated founder, Imran Khan.

In a message posted on social media, PTI Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa President Junaid Akbar said the party's regional organisations had been instructed to organise demonstrations at the district level.

He said that members of the National and provincial assemblies should visit the homes of workers who died during last year's unrest and express solidarity with their families.

Akbar added that PTI will hold a Quran recitation in Hayatabad, Peshawar, followed by a protest gathering.

He said the party leadership had decided that instead of staging a major nationwide protest, workers should mobilise at the district level as part of its strategy to mark the day.

The November 26 protest staged by the PTI, which triggered a sweeping round of arrests, was aimed at pressuring the government to release Imran Khan. The Islamabad administration detained several PTI workers, citing security threats and violations of public order.

The demonstration, which drew thousands to the capital under the leadership of Khan's wife Bushra Bibi and former K-P chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur, quickly spiralled into clashes with security forces.

According to the FIR lodged after the event, protesters armed with firearms, stones and batons attacked police and Rangers personnel.