ISLAMABAD
ONLINE
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan Saturday demanded the resignation of Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif in the backdrop of clash between police and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) workers at Minhaj headquarters in Lahore, which left about 11 people dead and dozens injured.
In press statement issued Saturday, Khan said that “complicity” of the chief minister in the Minhaj tragedy was evident from the hasty transfer of the Punjab inspector general just before the police action commenced.
“Shahbaz must take responsibility for these killings,” Khan stressed, also alleging that under Punjab CM’s previous tenures, extra judicial killings and encounters had been rampant.
Khan added that the Punjab Police had “lost all credibility” as it had become notorious for effectively being “a militant wing of Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N)”.
“It is seen more as a force of terror than a protection against terror by the ordinary citizens.”
Khan said that instead of showing remorse and resigning, the chief minister and his brother had embarked on a “vengeful track” through getting Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) to ban ARY TV channel for exposing police atrocities.
The PTI chief said that ARY had led the critique against Geo and its owner had not gone unnoticed in the vengeful ban.
“This vengeful and undemocratic behaviour of the Sharifs must end and PTI will continue its struggle to strengthen democracy by exposing this behaviour through its protests.”