The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) protests in Islamabad.
Political temperatures are set to rise further as Mr Khan announced his intention to press on with the Nov 2 lockdown of the capital on Thursday night, despite an Islamabad High Court order and the government’s determination to stop protesters from reaching Islamabad.
Information Minister Pervez Rashid, however, did not rule out the
possibility that the PTI leadership could be detained ahead of the Nov 2
sit-in.
Imran Khan calls for countrywide
agitation; government claims it will do whatever it takes to keep Islamabad
open on Nov 2
“The administration has been issued directives to allow life and routine
business to continue in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad on Nov 2.
They can use any tool under the law to ensure this,” the minister said when
asked if the government had any plans to detain the PTI leaders ahead of their
protest.
“They will be stopped from reaching Islamabad. Whatever we have to do,
we will do before Nov 2,” the minister said, adding that the government had
“declared in categorical terms that no one would be allowed to spread anarchy
in the name of democracy”.
Mr Rashid said that in view of the party’s record, the government could
not trust the PTI leadership and it would not allow them to reach the capital
city.
The call for a countrywide protest was issued by the PTI chairman after
an emergency party meeting at his Bani Gala residence, hours after the local
administration prevented the party from holding a youth convention at a private
venue, saying that prior permission had not been sought for the event following
the imposition of Section 144 of the criminal procedure code.
TV footage showed young men and women clashing with law enforcers and
being hauled off in police vehicles. While the party claimed that dozens of
workers had been picked up in both Rawalpindi and Islamabad, it was not
immediately clear whether they had been charged with anything.
Mr Khan resolved to head to Rawalpindi on Friday to attend a public
meeting at Lal Haveli and challenged the government to arrest him.
“We will see what they do to us tomorrow,” he said.
The PTI chief alleged that the party lawyers were not being allowed
access to police stations where detained workers were being held.
Terming the rulers “shameless and cowardly”, Mr Khan condemned the
police for manhandling his workers, particularly women, and claimed this police
action would prove counterproductive as “more charged activists will descend on
Islamabad now” to take part in the sit-in.
The PTI chairman asked the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to take notice of
the police high-handedness, saying that it had allowed the party to hold its
protest in the order passed earlier in the day and claimed there was no bar on
holding private events behind closed doors, even after the imposition of
Section 144.
The PTI chief also questioned the silence of other opposition parties
and the government’s allies over the police action.
Responding to a question about reports that the government was planning
to arrest his party’s leadership ahead of the Nov 2 sit-in, Mr Khan said that
they were not afraid of any government action.
“What will happen then? We will come out one day. And when we come out,
we will be on the roads again,” Mr Khan declared.
Before the IHC’s decision, Mr Khan had announced that he would go ahead
with his Nov 2 protest plan, even if he was barred from doing so by the courts.
Government Meeting
Sources said that soon after the IHC decision asking both the government
and the PTI to ensure freedom of movement on Nov 2, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif
held consultations with some members of his cabinet.
There was no official confirmation of the meeting, but sources said that
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar and Railways
Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique were among those present.
They said the ministers briefed the prime minister about their recent
meetings with leaders of other opposition parties, including the PPP and the
ANP.
The government had decided to adopt a three-pronged strategy; it was
decided that a team of government ministers would hold further meetings with
other opposition parties to take them into confidence over their strategy to
handle the situation arising out of the protest and use legal means to ensure
that Islamabad remained open on Nov 2.
Earlier, in a press conference at the Press Information Department,
Khawaja Saad Rafique and CADD Minister Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry said the
government was ready to hold talks with the opposition in order to forge a
consensus over the law to investigate the Panama Papers leaks.
Launching attacks on the PTI chief, Mr Rafique claimed that thus far,
the government had not decided to arrest Mr Khan, but no one would be allowed
to shut down the capital city and curb the rights of the citizens. He said the
government would ensure protection for schools, hospitals and the citizens of
Islamabad.
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