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Saturday May 11, 2024

PTI UK elected body distances itself from London protest

Jahangir says he's personally organizing the protest and PM Imran Khan has nothing to do with it

By Murtaza Ali Shah
October 14, 2020
Prime Minister Imran Khan and Sahibzada Jahangir pictured talking to each other. Photo: file

The UK PTI elected body has distanced itself from a protest being organised on Friday outside the Avenfield House by PM Imran Khan's aide Sahibzada Jahangir which will coincide with Nawaz Sharif’s speech to the Gujranwala rally of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM).

Earlier a message was sent out in a Whatsapp group in which a claim was attributed to Sahibzada Jahangir, stating that PM Imran Khan had directed him to hold the protest.

The message reads: “PM has directed me to organise a demonstration outside Nawaz Sharif's house in London on Friday 16th Oct between 3 pm - 6 pm. This is the time NS will be addressing a Jalsa in Gujranwala. Our protest will be shown live in Pakistan on television. We will be standing in groups of 6 persons. Police have given us permission to stand at [a] distance in groups of 6.”

Speaking to this reporter, Jahangir said that he was personally organizing the protest and PM Khan had nothing to do with it. He said that a fake message was circulated with his name and that attribution to the prime minister of Pakistan was false. He said the rest of the message was correct.

PTI UK’s elected body, however, said it had nothing to do with the protest and that no official directions had been communicated for it.

PTI’s elected Information Secretary Taqveem Ahsan Siddiqi told Geo News that PTI’s elected bodies are not aware of any planned protest and Jahangir must be “doing on his own”.

Siddiqui added: "PTI UK tanzeem is not into internal elections till first week of November."

Tariq Chaudhary has also announced a protest outside Hasan Nawaz Sharif’s office on Friday. In a statement, Chaudhary said he doesn’t believe in protests outside family homes as “my protest is outside an office”.

A spokesman of the PMLN said that it will not be holding any counter protests but activists will be gathering at Hasan Nawaz Sharif’s office during Nawaz Sharif’s speech.

Comments from the police were awaited at the time of filing of this report.