The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has decided to refrain from approaching any political party to join their December 12 shutdown.
"The general elections showed everyone that PTI has a large number of supporters and voters, and a large mandate in Karachi," claimed a PTI leader on the condition of anonymity. "Why should we have an alliance with other parties?"
The party with the largest stake in the city, Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), seems to have given its tacit approval. "It is the basic, legal and democratic right of every party [to hold sit-ins]," said MQM Rabita Committee member Aminul Haque. "If they [PTI] do everything within the law, no one should object to it."
Since the MQM has not been directly approached by the PTI, party leaders said they learned of the December 12 strike through newspapers and television. "We have gone one step ahead and condemned the killing of their worker in Faisalabad and demanded that the killers be arrested," said Haque. The Pakistan Peoples Party also endorsed PTI's democratic right to protest. "The Sindh government respects the democratic rights of all parties to register their protests but not at the expense of law and order," said information minister Sharjeel Inam Memon. "We will not interfere if anyone wants to keep their business shut voluntarily but we will not allow any group to force people to suspend their routine lives." He, too, regretted the killing of the PTI worker in Faisalabad.
Meanwhile, PTI provincial leader Khurram Sher Zaman pointed out another reason behind their decision to stay apolitical. "The Friday strike will be different from previous strikes that Karachi has been witness to," he said. "There will be no violence, no bloodshed, no tyre burning; no one will be forced to come out."
He added that they will welcome all political parties in their sit-ins as they are demanding electoral reforms.
The party plans to lock down 30 locations in the city by staging sit-ins on all major thoroughfares.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 10th, 2014.
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@ea: I agree with the first part of your assessment that creating anarchy and shutting down cities is hardly the way forward for PTI. Like you, I used to support them but no more. Imran Khan seems more concerned about his ego and he is too stubborn to care about the country. I disagree you about Musharraf being an honest leader though. An army general who contravenes his own military oath to respect the constitution and than takes over can hardly be called "honest". Imagine if 2 or 3 democratic cycles had taken place in his nearly decade dictatorship and how Pakistan would be on the path to democracy. The growing pains the nation is going through now is because a Musharraf type dictator doesn't let the democratic system take hold. Have you forgotten that in his nearly 10 year rule no electricity was added to the national grid and that a lot of the nation's current problems with violence and terrorism started?
IK has sadly turned out to be a disappointment as i dont support closing down cities. i voted in line for him and with my family, youve lost my and my family's vote due to this rowdy behavior. I aint gonna waste my vote for PTI again! Extremely disappointed at PTI, Musharraf is the best now as an honest leader left frankly
Karachi has all kinds of political protests we don't have Gullus If Khi is peaceful it will send a message to Noon that they have complete and utterly failed to provide Safety and Security to Ppl under its rulr