In a bid to avoid arrest of its workers and leaders ahead of its planned antigovernment protest on October 30, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is considering to reviewing date of Islamabad lockdown. The sources within PTI said that the decision to review the schedule was discussed in a meeting headed by PTI chairman Imran Khan on Thursday, which agreed that the protest should be held on a working day as October 30 is Sunday.
"We should ensure maximum number of people in the rally [and] the protest should be held on a working day instead of Sunday," sources quoted Imran Khan as saying in the meeting attended by senior PTI leaders. They said that that the party has decided to make the Islamabad lockdown successful at all costs, and in this regard the senior leadership of the party has decided to reschedule the lockdown date.
"It (lockdown of Islamabad) could be before October 30 or may be later, but this time it is do or die for PTI. We're considering reviewing the date as October 30 is a Sunday, so the lockdown should be a working day," they added. They said that the government will certainly start crackdown on PTI workers who will come to Islamabad from different parts of the world, but this time the party will ensure that either Nawaz Sharif should present himself for accountability or go home.
When contacted, a PTI spokesman said that the party chairman has already announced the date for Islamabad lockdown, adding there is a possibility that the date may be changed as the government is trying to create hurdles for the PTI workers. "We've also made arrangements on how to emerge victorious this time, so different options are being considered and the sole purpose, if the party makes it before October 30, it will be to make the show successful," he added.
He said that the party has made different committees which are working from different angles, adding the situation is completely different from 2014, and this time the PTI workers will prove that they are the real tigers of Imran Khan. "If someone thinks our workers will not be able to stay long if needed, they are building castles in the air. We have trained our workers, and they are fully motivated and this time it is do or die," he added.