PTI demands SC action against Bilawal House barricades
They also called for action against 'goons' in police uniforms who baton charged protesters during Sunday's...
PTI supporters are baton-charged by the police. PHOTO: AYESHA MIR/EXPRESS TRIBUNE/FILE
KARACHI:
Leaders of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) have sought the intervention of the Supreme Court to help remove the barricades around Bilawal House.
The party leaders on Monday demanded a suo motu notice by the apex court of the security wall and the barricades around Bilawal House. They also called for action against 'goons' in police uniforms who used baton charge on the protesters during Sunday's demonstration.
Flashing his bandaged fingers at a press conference on Monday, PS-112 MPA Khurram Sher Zaman said that they had no issue with the Bilawal House or with the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leaders. "They can build a 10-foot wall around the house, we don't care. All we want is for the road to be open for the public."
Addressing the press at the party's media cell in the Defence Housing Authority, he said that they were attacked by criminals dressed in police uniforms. "We were addressing a press conference two kilometres away from the Bilawal House when 25 to 30 criminals along with the police arrived and started hitting us with sticks. They did not even spare our women and children."
He said that the PPP was falsely accusing them of wanting to go inside Bilawal House and for creating chaos. "The pressure from our party has led the government to open one side of the road but the other side is yet to be cleared," he said, adding that the residents have been complaining of having to commute via longer routes and encountering traffic jams. The businesses around the area have suffered and the value of the properties has gone down too, he claimed. The PTI leader said that he was beaten up along with MNA Arif Alvi after they gave a week-long deadline to open the road and clear the blockades. "We will go to the court against it. We will do whatever it takes."
Refuting the charges by PPP's Shazia Marri that the demonstration was the PTI's reaction towards Bilawal Bhutto's speech, Zaman said that they had planned the protest days in advance. He informed that they had discussed the issue with the Karachi commissioner 12 days ago.
"This is not a political stunt. Our presence and strength will come to the fore when the results of the local bodies' elections are announced."
PTI's parliamentarian Samar Ali Khan said that protest was peaceful as they had carried no weapons or sticks. "This is a public issue. We want it to be solved for the good of the citizens."
Published in The Express Tribune, December 31st, 2013.
Leaders of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) have sought the intervention of the Supreme Court to help remove the barricades around Bilawal House.
The party leaders on Monday demanded a suo motu notice by the apex court of the security wall and the barricades around Bilawal House. They also called for action against 'goons' in police uniforms who used baton charge on the protesters during Sunday's demonstration.
Flashing his bandaged fingers at a press conference on Monday, PS-112 MPA Khurram Sher Zaman said that they had no issue with the Bilawal House or with the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leaders. "They can build a 10-foot wall around the house, we don't care. All we want is for the road to be open for the public."
Addressing the press at the party's media cell in the Defence Housing Authority, he said that they were attacked by criminals dressed in police uniforms. "We were addressing a press conference two kilometres away from the Bilawal House when 25 to 30 criminals along with the police arrived and started hitting us with sticks. They did not even spare our women and children."
He said that the PPP was falsely accusing them of wanting to go inside Bilawal House and for creating chaos. "The pressure from our party has led the government to open one side of the road but the other side is yet to be cleared," he said, adding that the residents have been complaining of having to commute via longer routes and encountering traffic jams. The businesses around the area have suffered and the value of the properties has gone down too, he claimed. The PTI leader said that he was beaten up along with MNA Arif Alvi after they gave a week-long deadline to open the road and clear the blockades. "We will go to the court against it. We will do whatever it takes."
Refuting the charges by PPP's Shazia Marri that the demonstration was the PTI's reaction towards Bilawal Bhutto's speech, Zaman said that they had planned the protest days in advance. He informed that they had discussed the issue with the Karachi commissioner 12 days ago.
"This is not a political stunt. Our presence and strength will come to the fore when the results of the local bodies' elections are announced."
PTI's parliamentarian Samar Ali Khan said that protest was peaceful as they had carried no weapons or sticks. "This is a public issue. We want it to be solved for the good of the citizens."
Published in The Express Tribune, December 31st, 2013.