- PTI chief not allowed leaving for Sheikh Rasheed’s rally due to Section 144
- Says he will not sit idle until PM Nawaz is held accountable for ‘corruption’
- Comes down hard on police for using force against workers of PTI, allies
- Asks party workers to avoid arrest and gear up for laying siege to Capital
Trapped at his Bani Gala residence with little to no room to manoeuvre after a heavy contingent of police blockaded all routes leading to the premises, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan has said that even 30,000 policemen would not be able to stop him from reaching the Capital on November 2.
Khan had to attend a public rally at the famed Lal Haveli in Rawalpindi on Friday, but law enforcement agencies did not allow him to leave his residence. Earlier in the day, Magistrate Ali Javed had a letter from the Islamabad deputy commissioner delivered at Bani Gala for Imran Khan, advising him not to leave for any rally in Rawalpindi due to the imposition of Section 144.
Later in the day, Khan, while addressing a group of reporters, asked PTI workers and other countrymen to stay committed to the accountability of the prime minister and his family over the Panama Leaks.
Khan, who was flanked by party leaders Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Jahangir Tareen and others, warned Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif that he would not sit idle until he was held accountable for his “corrupt practices”.
“Even if you arrest me, I would start agitation again whenever I am freed,” he said.
“I will follow you till my last breath,” he went on to say, as he questioned if “it was a kingdom or democracy” referring to mass arrests of his party workers and supporters at the orders of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz.
Khan also lashed out at the police and other law enforcement agencies for using force against workers of the PTI and its allies, asking why they were being targeted when they had not violated any law.
“What crime have we committed? Did we attack anyone or did we violate the law? Why did the police stop me from going to Rawalpindi? When the Islamabad High Court has directed the authorities not to block Islamabad, then why was Bani Gala sealed?” he asked.
Asked why he did not make an effort to break the siege and leave for Awami Muslim League’s rally in Rawalpindi, Khan said the objective to attend Pindi rally was to prepare for November 2 lockdown. “But, when the police stopped us, we established that there was no point in doing this today” he added.
The PTI chief alleged that although PM Nawaz Sharif was chanting the mantra of democracy, he was actually doing that “just to save his corruption”. He also said that even “30,000 policemen” would not be able to stop him from going to the capital on Nov 2 and directed party workers to avoid arrest and gear up for the planned protest in Islamabad.
POLICE HIGHHANDEDNESS CONTINUES
Meanwhile, police and Frontier Constabulary (FC) men kept using brute force against peaceful activists of the PTI throughout the day (on Friday). Thousands of law enforcers, who had put a siege around the residence of Imran Khan Thursday night, picked everyone around the PTI chief’s residence and bundled them up into police vans.
Even the vehicles carrying food for party workers and office-bearers were confiscated and their drivers arrested. PTI Secretary Information Naeemul Haq was not allowed to go into Khan’s residence.
Famous pop singer Salman Ahmed, who is a long time buddy of Imran Khan, was also arrested by police upon his arrival at Bani Gala. Salman however managed to escape from the police van. Later, the famous celebrity told media that the police had maltreated him which reflected worst fascism.
“I told the police that I am UN’s brand ambassador for polio and I visit Pakistan every month. I just wanted to see Khan who is my friend since 1982 but I was bundled into the police van after mistreatment,” he added.
Later at night, police kept torturing PTI workers coming from the various places. Delegation of PTI workers from Mansehra and Swat were also arrested upon arrival at Bani Gala. Some media workers and journalists also got injured when police charged PTI workers with batons.