MANSEHRA: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) on Friday demanded the release of former prime minister Imran Khan and other party leaders and workers arrested on what they termed trumped-up charges.
“Our offices are just because of Imran Khan sacrifices for this country, if he is not satisfied with the out-of-jail leadership’s performance for his release, he should replace them and we will accept his decision wholeheartedly,” Junaid Akbar Khan, the provincial president of PTI Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, told the youth workers’ convention at Khatm-e-Nabuwwat Chowk here.
The event was also attended by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Speaker Babar Saleem Swati, PTI’s provincial general secretary Ali Asghar Khan, central PTI youth leader Ahmad Khan Niazi, provincial deputy president Kamal Saleem Swati, Hazara divisional president Ali Khan Jadoon, and other senior party members.
Junaid Akbar Khan said that if the central leadership gave a call for nationwide protests as he was not holding of that authority as being provincial president they would begin the movement from the Margalla Hills and shut down the country from Karachi to Lahore.
“We must remain patient and continue our peaceful struggle for Imran Khan’s release. I am confident that he will soon be out of jail and will once again become the Prime Minister of this country,” Junaid Akbar said.
He said that PTI workers were ready to make sacrifices for the supremacy of the Constitution and for the sake of future generations.“We have tolerated this government because Imran Khan taught us the values of patience and endurance, despite the persecution we have still been face,” he added.
He accused the federal government of crossing all limits in persecuting PTI leaders and workers but praised the party’s continued unity and resolve under Imran Khan’s directives.“Imran Khan has committed no unlawful act. He is being punished only for his principled stance and must be released immediately,” he asserted.
Junaid Akbar reiterated that the party’s struggle for the release of its central leadership and imprisoned workers would continue peacefully.“Even our women workers are not spared. They have been arrested on fabricated charges, but the time is near when all of them will walk free,” he concluded.