In the face of stiff resistance from the government to disperse the sit-in protesters, demanding resignation of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan on Sunday declared unequivocally to continue the protest until his 'last breath'.
Addressing PTI and PAT supporters, who have camped in the lawn of the Parliament House, Imran said he would not have enjoyed the premiership as much as he enjoyed seeing his people turning into a nation, adding the day is not far when Nawaz Sharif would be left with no option but to quit under public pressure.
"I salute my people for their support and standing up against the monarch of Nawaz Sharif. I would also like to ask those if you were to become slaves of Sharifs, why you sacrificed to get freedom from the Britishers as they were ten-times better than these blood suckers. They never did corruption, respected rule of law, equal rights and established merit," he maintained.
Dubbing Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan as 'filed martial,' Imran said an FIR would be registered against him and his prime minister (Nawaz Sharif) for brutal use of force against 'peaceful' protesters. "Now I ask all Pakistanis: rise up against this government. This is not a constitutional government, they are killers," he added.
He said that any further use of force would create more problems for the government as major cities like Karachi, Lahore etc, have already been sealed. "The secretariat will also remain closed tomorrow as people will not be able to come to the offices. I will continue the protest till my last breath. I urge all Pakistanis to come out as I feel the fragrance of a new Pakistan," he contended.
"The real face of the Sharifs has been exposed. They are more dangerous than military dictatorship, as they don't allow people to make peaceful protests. The way they excessively used teargas is a violation international treaty of which Pakistan is a signatory and a case against the Sharifs is now a done deal because it was for the first time teargas was fired in such a large quantity that resulted in killing of some people," he lamented.
Imran also announced parting ways with his party president Javed Hashmi, saying the PTI would not have led a sit-in for 17 days if it was to come through the martial law. "We will be no more on the same track Mr Hashmi," Imran announced in response to an allegation in which Hashmi accused him of violating a party decision not to move towards the Prime Minister House.
He said that he was very disappointed from Javed Hashmi's allegations and said: "I never take dictations from anyone and Mr Hashmi knows it very well." Imran explained that he decided to march towards the Prime Minister House after Tahirul Qadri assured there would be no violence. "Had I relied upon martial law, I would have done it long ago," he retorted.
He also revealed that Javed Hashmi was the only one who refused to join 'Azadi March' with Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT)'s "revolution march".
Imran also terminated the PTI membership of three MNAs of his party who refused to submit their resignations. He also made it clear that there will be no further dialogue with the government in the wake of deadly police crackdown on 'peaceful' protesters. "Now the only thing which we want is resignation of Nawaz Sharif. I would like to tell my tigers to be ready to face any crackdown by the government. I was not prepared yesterday and today I'm ready...we'll deal with you (and) if you so desire," he warned.
He claimed that 20 people were killed and more than 500 were wounded in police shelling on demonstrators. The PTI chief also accused the Punjab police of taking away the dead bodies by killing the protesters.
He appreciated the police officers who refused crackdown on the protesters, and called upon all civil servants not to abide by any illegal orders of the rulers, as declared by the Father of the Nation Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
Imran Khan and Tahirul Qadri of Pakistan Awami Tehreek, who succeeded in extending their anti-government sit-ins to the lawn of the Parliament House Saturday night, are fully confident to advance towards the PM House if Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif did not step down.
The protesters of both parties camped in the lush green lawn of the Parliament House, while Imran and Qadri along with other senior party leadership remained in their containers on the Constitution Avenue, as police blocked their way to the PM House.
The clashes between police and supporters of PTI and PAT are still going on for the second consecutive day and people from other areas, especially from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, started pouring in to join the PTI protest on the call of their leader.
The twin-cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad give a look of a battlefield as hide and seek between protesters and the police still going on. A large number of protesters managed to enter the Red Zone, defeating heavy teargas shelling by the police. Some of the protesters had sticks and slingshots.
The enraged protesters of PTI set shipping containers' ablaze and torched several vehicles while the police was also seen snatching wallets from the people and destroying their motorbikes.
The PTI chairman had his breakfast in the shipping container, changed his dress, addressed his supporters from atop of the containers and also mingled with them for some time to boost their spirits.
TAHIRUL QADRI
Pakistan Awami Tehreek chief Dr Tahirul Qadri said on Sunday that murder cases would be registered against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and other ministers of his party, particularly Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan.
"No power of the world can save the rulers from being hanged as whatever they did with 'peaceful' protesters is not way justified," he maintained. He said the government has especially called in the Punjab police for launching offensive on 'peaceful' protesters.
"It is now a joint battle of me and Imran," Qadri said, adding "no talks would be held with the government from today (Sunday) onwards no matter what. He regretted that had there been sincere and competent leadership, Pakistan would have been in the comity of developed and civilised nations.
"We have always struggled for establishment of civilized society to secure the future of new generation...people have braved government's brutality with peace, courage and patience. The incumbent rulers have a long history of oppression which will reach its logical end soon," he added.
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