With his frequently reiterated demand that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif must step down or present himself for accountability, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan on Monday changed his party's Islamabad lockdown date from October 30 to November 2. Speaking at a press conference after holding a meeting of the party's core committee, Imran said the lockdown plan of Islamabad on October 30 was changed on request of lawyers' fraternity as Supreme Court bar Association (SCBA) elections are going to take place on October 31.
"After a lengthy discussion it has now been finalised that we'll proceed with our plan to lockdown Islamabad on November 02 instead of October 30", he said, adding "we changed the date as SCBA elections are going to take place on October 31." In case of any crackdown which he claimed the government is very much contemplating upon, he warned that such a mistake on the part of government will cost it dearly as PTI workers are fully prepared to resist.
"We kept knocking all forums such as Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and Public Accounts Committee of National Assembly for the last six months, [and] the attitude of Speaker National Assembly, which should be neutral, is in front of you, so we've no option but to seize the capital," he added.
Imran said the way the Sharifs are expanding their business "illegally", could be judged from their decision to set up sugar mills in Rahimyar Khan. "One Sharif [Shahbaz Sharif] is allowing another Sharif [Salman Shahbaz Sharif] to set up sugar mill in Rahimyar Khan which is illegal as sugar mills have already been set up there," he regretted.
He came down hard on the Prime Minister for his alleged corruption and money laundering to make fortune, saying the offshore companies in the name of his children were set up through money laundering which, according to Imran, can only be exposed through a probe into the Panama leaks.
"Six months have passed but a 'criminal' continues to rule the country," said Imran in an obvious reference to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, adding, "No party is serious about it, both Nawaz Sharif and Asif Zardari are busy in wheeling-dealing". To a question regarding his solo flight, he said: "We contacted all opposition parties but they're simply not interested so we've no option but to proceed, and we're well prepared to lock down the capital as this time it's do or die, and then there's going to be no sit-in, no jalsa".
He called upon the people of federal capital to be patient, saying he was fighting the war for the future of their children so they can have a wonderful life without doing anything at all. "The people of Islamabad, you've to bear with me, as I'm doing all this to secure the future of children or else they [rulers] are preparing their children to rule over you, so the need of the hour is that you all must stand up for a change," he maintained.