Imran Khan says won’t let Nawaz rule any longer

• Imran says ‘Ehtesab Movement’ will continue until PM has been made to face justice; Says he will take a rally from Rawalpindi to Islamabad next week and will turn to Lahore the week after;
• Says PM’s corruption has destroyed institutions; Says NAB is providing cover to PM Nawaz and Ishaq Dar; Calls on courts, NAB, ECP and FBR to take notice to PM’s corruption; Says parliament should force PM to submit to accountability

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan vowed during his much anticipated anti-government drive, which kick-started from Peshawar Sunday, that the party will do everything it can to end the rule of Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif.

Imran said that this is only the start and they will continue till the prime minister is made to face justice on Panama Leaks.

He said the rulers will not be allowed to amass wealth and build their own empires any longer.

He said he would lead a rally from Rawalpindi to Islamabad next week.

Imran called on parliament to force PM Nawaz to submit to accountability especially when they have such strong evidence which suggests that he lied to the people of the country.

Imran criticised the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman for not holding PM Nawaz accountable for the disclosures in the Panama Papers.

“NAB is providing cover to Ishaq Dar and Nawaz Sharif,” claimed Imran Khan. He also called on the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to take notice of PM’s corruption.

Thousands of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) supporters turned out for the first day of the party’s Ehtesab rally on Sunday, which set out from Peshawar to Attock along the Grand Trunk Road.

The streets of Peshawar were packed with supporters from Malakand, Dir, Kohat, Karak and Bannu, with some even flying in from abroad especially to attend the rally and support party chief Imran Khan.

Before commencing his anti-corruption campaign, the PTI chief addressed the rally’s participants.

He said that the institutions of the country had been destroyed due to corruption.

He said that corruption makes the rich richer and the poor poorer.

Imran vowed that he would stay with the workers till the accountability of the prime minister.

“This is just a trailer, the match is about to start,” said Imran.

This is the second time since the release of the Panama Papers a little over four months ago that Imran Khan has started a movement against the government. PTI’s previous campaign lost momentum due to extremely hot weather, incidents of harassment at a couple of PTI rallies and a shift in the PTI’s policy to take other opposition parties onboard and to sit down with the government to formulate Terms of Reference (TORs) for the Panama Leaks probe. After weeks of deliberations, the opposition parties decided to leave the parliamentary committee because of ‘government’s lack of seriousness’ in resolving the issue. But while the other opposition parties, especially the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), have decided to approach the courts against the government besides joining forces in parliament – the opposition has decided to introduce its own bill for the Panama Leaks enquiry in the Senate – they are not joining the PTI in its mass anti-government drive.

AND SO IT BEGINS:

On Sunday, the procession started from Pir Zakori Sharif flyover, where Khan and senior leaders of the party, including members of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa cabinet, led the march gathered atop a container.

The party tweeted messages from Imran Khan’s speeches throughout the day, saying it was ready for the long haul ahead.

“We’re bringing a conflict of interest law to protect the rights of public. It’s a common law in the west,” Khan said.

“Rs 2.5 million will be given to the whistleblower for a corruption disclosure worth 1 crore,” Khan said.

Khan also praised the performance of the KP police and government, and said that all the indicators show KP is the least corrupt of all the provinces.

Addressing the crowd from atop his container, Imran called out, “I ask the assembly and all the parliamentarians: Shouldn’t parliamentarians ask Nawaz Sharif why he lied about buying the London apartments in 2005, when we have registries which say they were bought ten years earlier? NAB is only there to catch the small fry.”

“You have lied,” he said, in an apparent reference to PM Nawaz. “We are starting this rally, and we are all ready.”

Khan reiterated that a corrupt leader like Nawaz Sharif cannot put an end to corruption in the country. In fact, his corruption only destroys institutions in the country.

“Chairman NAB’s handsome salary is paid by the taxes of the poor,” said Imran. “Has he been appointed to provide protection to the unjust?” he asked.

Imran told his jubilant followers that next week, he would go to Islamabad from Rawalpindi at the head of anothe protest rally.

“After Islamabad, I will turn towards Lahore,” he said. Imran said that people always have the right to hold a leader accountable and said that the only reason Nawaz Sharif wasn’t able to produce a reply to the accusations in the four months since the surfacing of the Panama Papers was that his wealth was indeed ill-gotten.

‘KP IS AWAKE AND CHARGED’:

“Until Nawaz Sharif presents himself for accountability, we will be on the streets to mobilise the masses to protect their own interests,” a statement from the party said.

“23:36 HRS yet Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is awake and charged to take on corruption!” a tweet from the party’s official Twitter account said.

Meanwhile, district members hired vehicles for their supporters to bring them to the rally. The organisers had fixed 10 AM as the arrival time and 10:30 AM for Imran’s speech. The time was later changed to 10:30. However, the party chief and other leaders reached the venue at 12:30 PM and delivered speeches by 1 PM.

A rally of around 2,000 PTI supporters, led by Minister for Health Shahram Khan Tarakai, started marching toward Mardan. They merged their rally with Minister for Education Atif Khan’s procession at the Pakistan Chowk at around 1 PM. Meanwhile, PTI MNA Murad Saeed also led a huge rally from Swat and people continued to joined in along the way. All three PTI members marched with thousands of people toward Nowshera Bridge on Kabul River. They ultimately joined the PTI workers from Peshawar.

In the southern areas, the minister for revenue also led a massive rally of PTI workers in the areas of Kohat, Karak, DI Khan and Hangu. Also, displaced people from North and South Waziristan, who are currently seeking temporary shelter in Bannu, took part in huge numbers. All the supporters from the southern areas joined Imran’s container rally at Pir Zakori Bridge in Peshawar.

From FATA, residents of Khyber and Mohmand agencies took part in large numbers. They were joined by locals of settled areas such as Charsadda, Bajaur and Orakzai.

BOYS WILL BE BOYS:

The youngsters riding on motorcycles and cars seemed to be enjoying the joy-ride rather than taking the anti-corruption rally seriously. Many bike riders had removed their silencers were busy doing one-wheeling. Similarly, the PTI supporters in cars were engaged in racing, putting the lives of rally participants in danger.

They were playing songs on high pitch making it impossible for other participants to hear the speech of the PTI chief at the start of the rally. They seemed to be more interested in fun than listening to Imran.

Many of the participants did not even know the name of the rally, and said they had only come to support Imran Khan.

There was total mess at the rally and the police had to baton charge to control the situation. The PTI chief accompanied by Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Jehangir Tareen, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervez Khattak, Provincial Minister Shah Farman and others, was haplessly looking at the situation.

The PTI workers were not allowing the traffic, including ambulances with patients on board, to travel to Islamabad. They even misbehaved with media personnel and were not giving passage to DSNGs to cover their rally.