PTI to mark govt ouster anniversary

Seeks permission to hold rally at Liaquat Bagh on April 9

ISLAMABAD:

Imran Khan's PTI has announced a protest for April 9, the date the party was removed from power four years ago following a no-confidence motion.

Addressing a press conference at K-P House on Monday, party leaders including Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and Junaid Akbar Khan, announced that the party will hold a countrywide protest on April 9.

They also demanded permission to stage a rally at Liaquat Bagh in Rawalpindi that day, asserting that holding a public gathering is their constitutional right. Afridi said the party would hold a "full protest" to highlight what he termed the suppression of democracy in the country.

"We must show the world that democracy is being strangled," he said, adding that the protest would remain peaceful. He urged authorities to grant permission for the rally, stating the party would manage all arrangements itself, including stage setup, sound system, and worker mobilisation.

"The government should only issue the NOC; we will handle the rest," he stated.

Junaid Akbar Khan said preparations had already begun and party leaders across the country, including in Peshawar, had been directed to mobilise workers for participation. He warned that if permission was denied, protests would be held wherever party workers are present.

Sohail also strongly criticised the federal government's policies, warning against any new military operations and highlighting what he described as a sharp economic decline over the past four years.

Afridi said military operations had neither resolved issues in the past nor would they do so in the future. He noted that 22 major and thousands of intelligence-based operations had been conducted, yet lasting peace remained elusive.

"We are political people, not armed groups," he said.