Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Sunday called on his party supporters to participate in a Civil Disobedience Movement and stop paying their taxes and utility bills if Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif does not step down from his office ‘within 48 hours’.
The announcement, which Khan said was the “biggest speech” of his 18-year-old political career, was made amidst cheers and slogans of thousands of his charged supporters which had gathered at the Azadi March venue.
The PTI chief said that he could have asked his supporters to storm the Parliament and Prime Minister’s House but then he was apprehensive about the “security of his workers and policemen deployed for security of the Red Zone”.
Reiterating his allegations against Nawaz Sharif and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Khan said that for the next two days, Azadi marchers would regularly gather at the protest site at 7pm and demand resignation from the premier.
“Please make my life easier and tender a resignation. I am giving you only two days to resign after which i will not be able to stop this tsunami from entering the Parliament House and drag you out,” Khan said, addressing Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
Khan repeatedly appealed to his supporters to not give up and stay for the sit-in till their demands were met.
Despite repeatedly going against his word, he assured the masses that he would not abandon them and would stay at the sit-in site “no matter what”.
Earlier, thousands of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) supporters marched towards the Red Zone but they were soon brought into control by the party leadership.