Islamabad Dharna: Save country from civil war, Imran asks CJP

Addressing his supporters from atop his custom-built container at Islamabad’s D-Chowk, Imran called upon Chief Justice Nasirul Mulk to take notice of the police crackdown on PTI workers who attend the Dharna.

He recounted the events of the night when he made the police release his arrested workers who he claimed were unlawfully detained. He said that the police had told him they were arresting his supporters for ‘attending the sit-in’.

“Now you have the responsibility to save Pakistan’s democracy,” Imran said addressing the chief justice. He asked judges of the superior judiciary whether or not it was their responsibility to protect the fundamental rights of the people.

“This country is heading for civil war and destruction,” he said, indicating that he was now finding it increasingly difficult to control his supporters who were angered by the police. He warned the rulers not to misuse the power of the police in order to save your seats.

“Pakistan has changed now and people will not tolerate this anymore. They know their rights and have awoken. You are only leaving them one way and that one way is to fight. I can see their anger. People hate the police and nobody wants to see their faces,” Imran said. He then warned the Islamabad police chief, Tahir Alam Khan, that the police would not be able to hide anywhere.

The Express Tribune has learnt that the PTI central leadership has decided to resist any police attempt to apprehend party workers. The party leaders, who have already challenged in the court the imposition of Section 144 in Islamabad, allowed its workers to fight back in case the police take action against them.

“Our workers have all rights reserved to fight back if the police take action under the illegally imposed Section 144 and its Clause 188,” the PTI lawmaker from Karachi, Dr Arif Alvi, told a select group of journalists at the residence of his party’s Secretary General Jahangir Tareen.

“How I can stop my workers from putting up resistance while I myself pelted the police with stones?” asked Dr Alvi. “But, our conduct towards media persons is different.”

According to another PTI leader, Shafqat Mahmood, Imran has made it clear that his party’s struggle is peaceful but to resist illegal actions is also a right of the workers. He also rebuffed reports that PTI workers had attacked any journalists.

When a journalist asked why the PTI did not fulfill its promise and why it reneged on a written assurance not to enter the high-security Red Zone of the federal capital, Mahmood said that “the law does not recognise any Red Zone, therefore, we did not violate any law”.

PTI leaders said the deadlock in talks was because of the government’s unyielding stance. Dr Alvi said that the government has even refused to open 30 constituencies for audit, citing Article 225 of the Constitution as a reason. “We want to establish that the general elections were rigged, while the government is reluctant and insists on defining ‘systematic rigging’ first,” he added.

Jahangir Tareen said that the reason behind the U-turn of unseated PTI president Javed Hashmi would unfold soon. Despite his confession that he was part of all decisions taken by the party leadership, Hashmi hurled serious allegations against Imran, Tareen said. “We will not support martial law and any other unconstitutional step.”

Shafqat Mahmood said that it was decided in a meeting between PTI vice chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi and PAT leader Dr Tahirul Qadri that our struggle would be peaceful and we will not support imposition of martial law. “If there was any script then some of its parts must come in the limelight after 33 days,” Mahmood said. “The army has nothing to do with political affairs and our movement is purely political and peaceful.”

PTI chairman Imran Khan also blamed the Sharif brothers for “taking the country to the brink of destruction”. “They have stolen money from this country, they have evaded tax, they are destroying democracy to save their money,” he alleged. “I dare Nawaz Sharif to declare all his assets and all the assets he has in the name of his children and other relatives, if he does this I will end this sit-in,” he added.

Imran said that he has decided to spend Eidul Azha at D-Chowk. He also claimed that three IGs and two SSPs in Islamabad refused to accept Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s orders. “People have started questioning the rationale for $400,000 extra that Nawaz has asked for his upcoming US trip,” said the PTI chief.