'We will turn Islamabad into Somnath,' PTI’s Junaid warns govt against use of force ahead of Sept 27 protest

'Terrorists won’t return,' Talal warns PTI over Islamabad protest

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) president Junaid Akbar on Sunday warned the government against the use of power during the party’s planned protest on September 27, saying that the party knew the state would open fire during its planned Islamabad march, but warned that this time its workers would not simply collect bodies and return.

“We will turn Islamabad into Somnath,” he said while addressing a gathering in Peshawar.

Akbar said PTI workers would approach Islamabad through multiple routes, including the motorway and Grand Trunk Road, while some would descend from the Margalla Hills and others would come from Dera Ismail Khan.

He urged the people of Islamabad and nearby areas to join the march, while suggesting that people from Lahore, Multan, Karachi and Faisalabad should instead mobilise in their respective cities.

He said PTI workers from K-P would go to Islamabad and, if people from Attock, Rawalpindi and Islamabad wanted to join them, “it is a very good thing”.

Akbar also called for the closure of Lahore, Faisalabad, Quetta and Karachi on the day of the march, saying people in those cities should come out in large numbers.

He said PTI workers had faced arrests and injuries during previous protests and claimed that thousands of party workers had been arrested in different provinces.

“We also get shot, we also get hurt,” he said, adding that he had been going through “the worst situation” for a year.

Akbar said the party had tried to find a way out of its differences but had failed. “We put our credibility at stake, but we tried to find a way. But the way did not come out,” he said.

He said the party had no other option and urged workers to make a decision about whether they wanted to “die or make a new Pakistan”.

Akbar said the party did not want the state to weaken or hatred to increase, adding that he respected state institutions despite his differences with their leaders.

“We do not want the state to weaken. We do not want hatred to increase,” he said.

He also raised the issue of finances for the planned protest, saying the party would need funds for its mobilisation.

Akbar said he would carry out any responsibility assigned to him and suggested that Ali Amin Gandapur and Shahid Khattak jointly lead the march, with the K-P chief minister Sohail Afridi leading it.

He said PTI workers had been warned that transport would not be available for them, but added: “We will go on foot on the 27th, but we will go to Islamabad.”

Meanwhile, responding to Akbar's remarks, Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry described the plan as a “conspiracy” and said the government would not allow any activity that was illegal or threatened people's lives.

Talking to a private news channel, Chaudhry described the PTI's plan as a “conspiracy”.

“This is a conspiracy. This is a conspiracy of the so-called political right. This is their conspiracy,” he said.

He alleged that the plan involved deaths, attacks and violence, saying the PTI had demonstrated such behaviour in the past, referring to the events of May 9 and Nov 26.

Chaudhry said that on May 9, PTI leaders led people out of their homes and an attack took place, after which they tried to distance themselves from what had happened.

He alleged that PTI workers were asked to perform duties during the protest and that some security personnel were run over by vehicles, leaving many workers injured. He said the protesters attacked Islamabad and later described it as their right.

“The right to protest does not give the right to attack,” Chaudhry said, adding that peaceful protest had to be conducted in its proper manner.

“If you are a peaceful citizen, you can come to Islamabad from any direction. You will be given protection and all kinds of facilities,” he said. “But if you come as a terrorist, then you will not go back.”

He said there should be no doubt about the government's position this time, adding that there was “absolutely no scope” for such actions.

Chaudhry said the government would act not only under the law but also in accordance with the Islamabad High Court's order.

“We will follow it with clarity, letter and spirit,” he said.

He said Islamabad housed foreign embassies, international institutions and their offices, as well as major businesses and important government offices, and was the capital of Pakistan.

“No such thing will be tolerated here which is illegal and which is a threat to people's lives or which can affect ordinary life,” he said.

Referring again to Junaid's remarks about turning Islamabad into Somnath, Chaudhry said the PTI leader's statement reflected what he described as the party's approach.

“He says he will make Somnath. We know that he makes Somnath. He has made K-P Somnath,” he said.

Chaudhry said that the PTI had failed to stop terrorism in K-P and had also failed to bring the promised improvement in health, education and other facilities.

He said the party had spoken of bringing change if it came to power, but alleged that it had instead turned K-P into “Somnath”.

“This is PTI's speciality,” he said.

The minister said the government would not allow such thinking to move forward.

“These are the things that the government was saying before,” he said and described it as the PTI's “real plan”, saying the remarks had revealed what the government had previously been warning about.