LAHORE: A day after surviving an assassination attempt in Wazirabad with injuries, PTI leader and former prime minister Imran Khan on Friday thanked Almighty Allah for saving his life and said the long march would resume after full recovery.
In a televised address from his wheelchair at Shaukat Khanum Hospital in Lahore, Imran urged his supporters and party members to continue their protest against Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and a military official . “Continue your protest against these three individuals until they leave office,” he urged them.
Imran said there could be no fair and transparent investigation into the assassination attempt against him in the presence of the three people he named. He also demanded the replacement of the Inspector General of Police (IGP) of Punjab.
Imran said he was aware of the imminent danger. “I had already learned that there was a plan in place to kill me somewhere between Wazirabad and Gujrat,” he added. Imran claimed that, contrary to initial media reports, he had been shot four times in the shin.
Provide details of how “they” [government leaders and others] planned to assassinate him, Imran said: “They used methods similar to those they had tried against [former Punjab governor] Salman Taser. They tried to accuse me of blasphemy to turn the public against me. He said his party was not created under the patronage of any military establishment and came to power after 22 years of struggle.
PTI Chairman Imran Khan has urged Army Chief of Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa to hold the “black sheep” of his institution accountable. The stature of the army will not fall if you take action against them, he said. He claimed that these “black sheep” were damaging the reputation of the institution. He said the establishment used to impose decisions on the people. “This time they were shocked that people hadn’t accepted those who had been flying for the past 40 years.”
He alleged that Pakistan’s own agencies were not allowing democratic processes to continue. “During the July by-elections, the entire state apparatus was used […] the rigging has been done […] but the PTI swept the elections.
“What happens next is more pressure and threats. A manager came to Islamabad, a senior officer, and he said he would show them how to straighten them out. [PTI] out,” Imran alleged.
“More rigor has started on the media and journalists favoring the PTI. Our AMPs are approached, scared and threatened to abandon me […] they threatened to post inappropriate videos and blackmailed them.
The PTI leader called Pakistan’s Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, telling him the leader of the country’s biggest party was “not getting justice”. He said: “CJP, whatever has been done to me in the past six months, I can assure you that has never been done by the country, even with an enemy. I have won the highest civil honors […] I raised Pakistan’s respect in cricket […] Shaukat Khanum Hospital is internationally renowned. I did two universities. And then I created the biggest party in the country,” he said.
He repeated that four people intended to assassinate him, so he filmed a video to reveal the names of those people. “The tape, which includes the names of four people, will be released if anything happens to me,” the former prime minister said in October when addressing a jalsa in Mianwali. “I have been in government for three and a half years, I know everyone in the institutions and agencies.”
At the start of his speech, he began to reprimand the incumbent government and lamented how his government had been overthrown by a vote of no confidence. “Our government might survive the no-confidence decision, but they [the coalition leaders] used money to achieve success,” he said, adding that the PTI-led government also had the financial means to engage in haggling, but refrained from doing so.
He said that when the PTI was in power, the then opposition staged three long marches against their government but “we didn’t arrest anyone”. “During the last long march, the police, on the orders of the coalition government, broke into the homes of the people at 3 a.m. and tortured people. They put them behind bars and gassed peaceful protesters in Islamabad. . »
Imran accused the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) of being involved with the incumbent government to sideline the PTI. They used every maneuver to discredit me, resorted to slander and filed a complaint against me. The machinery of government was used and the electoral body stopped the implementation of electronic voting machines (EVM). Despite their best efforts, the PTI still won the elections,” he said.
The former prime minister added that the ECP has become a tool of the coalition government to disqualify him in the Toshakhana case. He said the charges against him in the Toshakhana case were baseless because the entire file was available. ”
Imran said he couldn’t be compared to the Sharif family who owned billions of rupees overseas and lived in the most expensive flats in London. He said the party would go to court against the ECP’s decision to disqualify him, saying chief election commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja was a “servant of the Sharif family”.
Before starting his speech, he asked PTI stalwart Dr. Faisal Sultan to educate the masses about his health. wounds.
Meanwhile, PTI workers and activists launched nationwide protests against the attempted assassination of Imran Khan on Friday afternoon. The party is staging protests in major cities including Karachi, Islamabad, Lahore, Quetta, Peshawar, Malakand, Rajanpur, Bahawalnagar, Muzaffargarh and Kohat. , among others. Imran’s supporters also protested at the Faizabad interchange. Islamabad police fired tear gas canisters to disperse protesters who resorted to throwing stones. The police and FC arrested several PTI workers. Police in the capital took to Twitter to update the public on the situation in the twin towns.
Earlier, protesters blocked Rawalpindi GT road from both sides which affected traffic. After workers ended their protests in Rawat, GT Road was cleared for traffic. The PTI workers, on the other hand, left after protesting at the National Press Club, Islamabad.
Earlier, some PTI supporters jumped the gate of Governor House, Lahore while others tried to break through the barriers. Earlier, lawyers from the Insaf Lawyers Forum also gathered at the scene.
Protests affected traffic at Thokar Niaz Baig and Shahdara Chowk in Lahore, as well as at the GPO intersection. In Lahore, party workers and supporters were led by Senator Ejaz Chaudhry.
Shahrah-Faisal of Karachi was cleared of traffic following protests. Earlier, Karachi police loaded batons and fired tear gas shells at protesters on the city’s crucial thoroughfare to ensure their dispersal.
PTI MPA Raja Azhar Khan was injured due to police baton and stampede on Shahrah-e-Faisal. He vowed to move the court against the SSP South. “Rubber shells and bullets cannot lower our morale,” he added.
Police said around 300 to 500 protesters were heading towards Metropole from Gora Qabaristan. The demonstrators did not stop despite several warnings. Finally, police used tear gas near Jinnah Mor Hospital to disperse protesters.
Two hours after the clashes, police finally managed to disperse the protesters and fully restore traffic to Shahrah-e-Faisal. In Peshawar, protesters blocked the freeway interchange. In Quetta, party workers protested against the Mannan Chowk.
In Hyderabad, supporters demonstrated at the Haider intersection, while protesters also gathered at the Kashmir intersection of Tharparkar. Due to the protests, traffic was also closed at the Milad intersection in Lodhran.
