ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chief and former Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday chaired a meeting of PTI’s Core Committee at Bani Gala in which current political situation and long march strategy were reviewed.
Sources privy to the development said, the core committee meeting was also briefed on the progress of the petitions filed against the PTI members in the courts and legal proposals for dealing with the political situation in Punjab were also discussed.
PTI has canceled the plan for immediate long march due to the budget 2022-23. The core committee also finalized the strategy in case chairman Imran Khan gets arrested.
The party would not engage in talks other than for the date of new elections in the country and its lawmakers would also not appear before the national assembly speaker tomorrow for verification of their resignations.
Addressing the media to brief on the decisions of the core committee, PTI leader and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said the party would actively participate in the by-elections for 20 seats of Punjab Assembly which fell vacant after de-seating of PTI members on defection.
He said that Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah intends to arrest Imran Khan, adding that such step would witness an ‘extreme reaction’. He urged the party activists to strongly react if Imran Khan gets arrested by the ‘imported government’ without waiting for any instruction from the party.
Mahmood warned that those thinking there would be silence over Imran Khan’s arrest were mistaking. He questioned Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) on its stance on the recent dialogue between Pakistan and Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), adding that these talks during PTI’s government were opposed.
The ex-minister also criticized the inflation storm in the country after hike in electricity, gas, and fuel prices. He asked the party organizations to identify the police officials who raided the houses of workers ahead of the Haqiqi Azadi March for approaching courts against them.
Mahmood said the women wing of PTI would stage protests in Rawalpindi or Islamabad against the brutality of the law enforcement agencies on female and children during the long march.
PTI leader said the core committee also decided that the President of Pakistan Dr Arif Alvi would be asked to raise the point to the security establishment of why it did not take any action against the political interference from outside was proved. He added that the overseas Pakistanis would be engaged to raise the human rights violations during the long march.
The former minister said the core committee expressed dissatisfaction over the new delimitations carried out by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and announced to challenge them. He said gerrymandering has been done under a specific design to give an edge to the PML-N over PTI, especially during the upcoming by-elections in Punjab.
After nearly two weeks, former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan returned to his Islamabad residence in Bani Gala amid threats to his life and possibility of arrest.