LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan Friday appealed to the people to come out of their houses on Saturday (Apr 6) to send a strong message to the ‘handlers’ and secret agencies that “we stand by our Constitution and the Supreme Court of Pakistan.”
Earlier, the former prime minister had announced holding rallies in Islamabad, Lahore, Rawalpindi and Peshawar to show their support for the apex court and the Constitution, and also asked the people to come out onto the streets on Saturday for one hour between 5.30 pm and 6.30 pm on to express solidarity with Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial.
While addressing the nation through a video link here on Friday, the PTI chief said that Pakistan was at a decisive moment in its history; hence all should come out of their houses to fight for their right to vote and the Constitution, and thus save Pakistan otherwise this country would become unlivable. “Those who could not participate in the rallies should gather at the points given by the party at 5.30 pm for one hour to express their resentment against what was happening in the country and demand elections. For the future of our children, we must fight for our fundamental rights,” he added.
He was certain that the ruler would not hold elections till favourable conditions were created for their victory and thus in reality the people would have no say in the future government setup. He pointed out that the coalition government constantly refused to accept the Supreme Court’s decision to hold elections on May 14 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Punjab. “If the court’s order were not followed and subsequently, the Constitution was violated, there would be no law in the country; this would mean the law of the jungle would be imposed on the people,” he added.
He smelled foul play behind the rulers’ demand to hold the elections in October; “there was a reason behind this, the mafia (the rulers) was buying time to crush my party and then hold elections. As a part of the London plan, they would put me in jail and then kill me while the PTI leaders and workers would be subjected to torture and harassment. If their plan fails then there would be no elections in 2023,” he said.
He pointed out that they were afraid of losing elections because of the economic meltdown and unprecedented inflation in the country; they were seeing a certain defeat in the elections so the mafia was bent upon destroying the Constitution and the Supreme Court, adding that it has no plan to take the country’s economy in the right direction.
He castigated the rulers for targeting the apex court and unleashing propaganda against the Chief Justice.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023