Gohar invites opp to join Sept 27 protest

PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan said the party’s September 27 march would be peaceful as it solely aimed at seeking justice. He also invited all opposition parties to participate in the scheduled protest.

Talking to the media at the Peshawar High Court on Wednesday, Gohar said there would be neither unrest nor use of government resources during the march. The PTI rules over Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) province.

“The September 27 march will not be held merely for the sake of it. It will remain peaceful,” he said. The PTI chief said his party expected JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and the entire joint opposition to join them in the protest.

Gohar said people wanted democratic change under which the rights of all citizens would be protected. He called for fresh elections and proposed a “Sulah-e-Pakistan” treaty, modelled on Sulah-e-Hudaybiyyah, involving all stakeholders and ensuring everyone’s rights.

Sulah-e-Hudaybiyyah or the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah was a compromise reached in 628 between Muslims and infidels of Makkah, who gave political and religious recognition to the growing community of Muslims in Madina.

Gohar said people had become tired of political tension and polarisation.

Talking with reference to the ongoing debate on the creation of new provinces, he said provinces should not be created on an experimental basis and warned against haste in taking decisions that could harm the federation. Citing the United States and India, he argued that population growth alone should not be used as a justification for creating new provinces.

He strongly condemned Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz’s recent remarks regarding new provinces, saying the PTI’s core and political committees had discussed the issue and demanded that she withdraw her statement.

Gohar said national security and peace should take precedence over political and personal statements, adding that the reception given to K-P Chief Minister Sohail Afridi during his street movement in Sindh had encouraged the PTI.

Meanwhile, PTI sources said the party’s political committee had directed Punjab office-bearers and lawmakers to prepare for the September 27 Islamabad protest.

According to sources, lawmakers had been asked to collect Rs500,000 each for the protest and mobilise workers. The planned visit of K-P CM Afridi to Punjab was also postponed because of preparations for the protest.

Sources said workers and lawmakers from 10 districts of central Punjab would gather in Lahore, while a decision on whether they would protest in Lahore or be called to Islamabad would be taken according to the situation.

Lawmakers and workers from other districts of Punjab would head to K-P, while members from southern Punjab would reach Peshawar with workers a day before the protest.

A PTI central Punjab leader alleged that police were conducting raids at the homes of party workers and leaders as preparations for the protest continued.