Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan has decided to speed up his party’s public mobilisation campaign for what he called an ‘anti-corruption crusade’ and advised top party leaders to remain in close contact with people to make his Islamabad lockdown plan scheduled for November 2 result-oriented.
Sources privy to the development told Pakistan Today that the PTI chief was quite determined about a positive outcome of his party’s sit-in plan and had decided to launch an aggressive mass contact movement to mobilise public across the country.
Khan has himself initiated the mass contact campaign as he has been making a whirlwind tour of cities across the country not only to inform people about what he calls “rampant corruption” but also to prepare them to participate in his party’s plan of laying a siege to the federal capital.
Khan has spent busy days in Punjab, addressing conventions of party workers, various bar associations as well as public meetings in Lahore, Multan and Faisalabad under a well-thought-out strategy to woo maximum people for his sit-in plan.
Sources said that Khan had issued special directives to top leaders of his party to expedite the mass mobilisation movement so as to make the protest a success.
In the next round of his public campaign starting Friday (today), the PTI chief will turn to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), where he will first visit Peshawar and address party workers as well as people from different walks of life. Khan would visit Dera Ismail Khan on October 23 and then spend a busy day in Malakand on October 24, sources said, adding that he would also address a convention of party workers, lawyers and members of the business community in Abbottabad.
According to sources, the PTI chairman would spend the last five days before his sit-in in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi and would put maximum efforts in to mobilise public for participation in the sit-in.
Khan will remain in Rawalpindi for three days and will run an aggressive campaign to ensure maximum public participation. During October 27, 28 and 29, he will be visiting various areas of the district for addressing party’s workers conventions and the business community.
Khan will be visiting various reception camps to be set up by party’s local leadership in Islamabad on October 30 and 31 to review preparations.
Sources said that since PTI leadership had strictly advised party workers to be ready for any challenge and special arrangements had been made in this regard. They however warned that use of force by the government could prove counterproductive.
They further said that party’s local leadership had been asked to make especial arrangements for party workers and supporters coming from other parts of the country such as storing food items sufficient for at least ten days.