Revised strategy: PTI changes course over shutdown call

Imran Khan leaves it to the people to decide about the ‘shutter-down’ plan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan said on Thursday that PTI will stick to its recently announced ‘Plan C’. However, he left it to the people to decide about the controversial ‘shutter-down’ component of the plan – letting them determine whether or not to bring their cities to a halt.

The party is preparing to enter the next stage of its agitation against the government over allegations of rigging in 2013 general elections. “We will not give the shutter-down call to traders… but those who think there was no lawlessness, corruption and poverty, they can open their shops,” Imran said while addressing the sit-in at D-Chowk of the Constitution Avenue.

Earlier, PTI had threatened to paralyse Faisalabad on December 8, Karachi on December 12, Lahore on December 15 and then a nationwide shutdown on December 18 if an independent audit of the 2013 election is not ordered.

Holding protest rallies was our democratic right and we were not doing politics at gunpoint, Imran clarified.

Talking about the proposed judicial commission, the PTI chief said that the government had initially agreed over the constitution of the commission but backed out when pressure was reduced.

Imran said, “Nawaz Sharif will not allow impartial inquiry into the allegations of rigging.”

“I had asked for opening of four constituencies because I knew millions of extra ballot papers were printed before the elections,” he added.

While taking credit of government’s decision to cut prices of petroleum products, he said it all happened due to the protest of PTI.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 5^th, 2014.