Peshawar: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf supporters will march towards Islamabad on September 27 if “justice” is not provided to the party’s founding chairman and incarcerated former prime minister, Imran Khan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province Chief Minister Suhail Afridi has announced.
Afridi made the announcement while addressing a large public gathering of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) supporters in Peshawar on Wednesday on the eve of Khan completing three years in prison.
The provincial chief minister said the party’s first demand is that cases against the former prime minister and his wife be fixed for hearing and decided on merit, while the second demand is the restoration of meetings with their legal team, doctors, relatives and party leaders.
He claimed that if justice is delivered, Khan can be released “within 30 minutes”, otherwise people from across the country will march to Islamabad on September 27.
Afridi said the PTI is seeking justice, not charity, and maintained that the party will continue its struggle through constitutional and democratic means, including peaceful protests.
Welcoming supporters from across Pakistan, he said people from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan have gathered to express solidarity with Khan and that the large turnout reflects his continued popularity.
Referring to the completion of three years since what he termed Khan’s “abduction”, Afridi alleged that the former prime minister has been kept in solitary confinement and his sisters faced mistreatment while attempting to meet him in prison.
He alleged that the 26th and 27th constitutional amendments have weakened the judiciary and claimed that courts are no longer able to dispense justice independently.
The 26th amendment capped the country’s chief justice’s tenure for three years, while the 27th amendment created a new position of the Chief of Defence Forces and set up a constitutional court.
The chief minister reiterated the PTI’s longstanding stance that Khan was removed from office through an “external conspiracy”, aided by “internal collaborators”, after he refused to compromise on Pakistan’s sovereignty.
He said Khan had sacrificed personal comfort for the country’s future and raised the issues of Islamophobia and Muslim rights at the international level.
Afridi also alleged that the regime change in April 2022 has led to economic decline and a resurgence of terrorism, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, saying the province has once again become a victim of insecurity and bloodshed.
Afridi accused the incumbent government of damaging Pakistan’s relations with neighbouring countries, including Iran, Afghanistan and China, and criticised what he described as dynastic politics, vowing that the PTI will resist any attempt to impose hereditary rule.
Afridi said the party has exhausted all legal and judicial forums without obtaining justice and, therefore, has no option but to exercise its constitutional right to peaceful protest.
He urged supporters to continue their struggle for their constitutional and democratic rights, and said he will lead the march towards Islamabad on September 27 if the party’s demands are not met.