IMRAN KHAN SUPPORTERS’ CONVOY REACHES ISLAMABAD

Mon 25 November 2024:

The convoy of PTI supporters has arrived in Islamabad and is making its way to the D-Chowk, its final destination in Islamabad. D-Chowk lies in the “Red Zone”, an area housing key government institutions.

PTI leader Asim Arbab confirmed the development to Al Jazeera, saying that thousands of people are following the leadership of Bushra Bibi, wife of incarcerated former Prime Minister Imran Khan, and Ali Amin Gandapur, chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

The convoys from the northwestern province departed on Sunday on the “final call” issued by Khan on November 14.

The PTI founder urged the public to come out on November 24 to protest the “stolen mandate” of this year’s elections, “unjust arrests” of PTI leaders and activists, and the passing of a recent controversial constitutional amendment, which gave government oversight powers on the appointment of judges in superior courts.

Khan, founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), called for nationwide protest rallies and asked people to descend on the capital to take back the “looted” mandate in the wake of alleged poll rigging in the 8 February general election, the release of political prisoners as well as undoing controversial changes in the South Asian nation’s judiciary.

Since Sunday, protesters began marching towards Islamabad, which has been fortified with heavy security, including paramilitary Rangers, and continued on Monday.

The government said that at least one police officer was killed and 20 injured – several of them critically – in firing by the protesters.

The police officer was killed near Islamabad, said Interior Minister, Mohsin Naqvi.

Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, condemned the death and ordered that the culprits be identified and given exemplary punishments.

PTI sources told Anadolu that negotiations with the government are underway to designate a site in the capital for a sit-in, and if agreed, protesters would not march towards the Parliament House.

Accompanied by Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi Khyber, Pakhtunkhwa Province Chief Minister, Ali Amin Gandapur, was among the demonstrators, according to social media videos from PTI.

Bibi, in a brief address to the protesters, said the march will end only after Khan’s release.

“My brothers, as long as Imran is not with us, we will not end this march,” she told supporters at a stop near the Hazara Interchange. “I will stay there till my last breath, and all of you have to support me. This is not just about my husband but about the country and its leader,” a veiled Bibi said on an open-roof truck.

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Roads to capital blocked

Amid a heavy crackdown on Khan’s supporters, new police cases have been filed against former President, Arif Alivi, Gandapur, Bibi and other PTI leaders.

The Pakistani government denies Khan’s claims of election fraud, as well about cases filed against him and other PTI members, which the party says are “bogus”.

The government has closed educational institutions in Islamabad while all motorways and roads leading to the capital have been blocked as authorities placed thousands of commercial containers on the roads.

In many places, roads were dug up and trucks and heavy stones were placed on highways to block the rallies, but protesters were seen clearing the roads to continue their march.

The government has threatened to deal with all those entering Islamabad with a heavy hand after it imposed restrictions on assemblies of four or more people in the capital.

‘They must not cross a red line, force us to take extreme steps’

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, speaking to journalists in Islamabad’s Red Zone, said it would be “very easy” for the government to open fire on converging demonstrators but added it will exercise patience.

“I said this yesterday and I’m saying it again today: Those responsible for all the damage are the ones who issued the call for this,” he said in a brief press conference after midnight.

When asked about the inconvenience faced by the general public from road closures, Naqvi put the blame on PTI activists, saying the question must be asked of those who are “attacking this place while we are protecting our people”.

The interior minister issued a stern warning, saying the party of Imran Khan must not force the government’s hand.

“They must not cross a red line that may force us to take the extreme step. For that, if we have to impose 245 – implement curfew in the city, or take a third extreme step – we will do it,” said Naqvi.

Article 245 of the Constitution of Pakistan allows the government to call in the army to aid a civilian government in implementing “law and order”.

More than 4,000 PTI supporters have already been detained in Pakistan’s biggest province of Punjab alone to thwart the march to the capital, according to media reports.

Khan, 72, asked his supporters to reach Islamabad, camp there, and not return home without the government giving into the PTI’s demands.

The PTI has held dozens of such nationwide rallies and demonstrations since Khan was ousted from power in April 2022.

The so-called final call by Khan for 24 November was also supported by thousands of overseas Pakistanis in more than two dozen nations, according to the PTI.

Thousands of Pakistani expats and their supporters assembled in the European nations as well as the US, Canada and Australia to seek the release of Khan, who has been in jail since last August.

Italy and the UK saw the biggest rallies in support of Khan and his PTI, according to the videos of the demonstrations shared on the party’s social media..

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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