PTI protests across Karachi to slam gun attack on Imran Khan

After the gun attack on Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan and other leaders in Wazirabad, protests by the party’s members and supporters erupted across Karachi and caused heavy traffic jams on the main thoroughfares.

PTI leaders and workers held protests at more than two dozen spots, including Sharea Faisal, Star Chowrangi, Hassan Square, Hub River Road, Shah Faisal Colony, Quaidabad, National Highway, Qayyumabad, Mauripur, Mira Naka, Landhi, Ayesha Manzil, Native’s Jetty Bridge, Teen Talwar, Hino Chowrangi, Gulshan-e-Hadeed Morr, Al-Asif Square and Keamari.

The protesters blocked the main roads of the city. They shouted slogans against the federal government and the Sindh administration. However, heavy police contingents reached the sites of the protests to avoid any untoward incident. Police also tried to disperse the protesters peacefully to clear the roads.

Participating in the protest at Teen Talwar, the PTI’s parliamentary party leader in the provincial assembly Khurrum Sher Zaman, appealed to the party workers to remain peaceful. He, however, also told them that this is the time to stand with Khan.

“People of Karachi should show their solidarity with Imran Khan by closing their businesses on Friday [today]. Imran Khan has started a campaign to change the system not for himself but for the future generations. The people of Karachi will not abandon their leader in such a situation.”

PTI Sindh Senior Vice President Muhammad Ashraf Qureshi, who was present at the protest on Sharea Faisal, claimed while addressing the protesters that Khan had been attacked with the help of the allegedly imported government.

He said PTI workers have been protesting peacefully. He also said Khan has not been fighting for himself, but for the survival of the next generation. The people of Karachi should come out of their homes to show solidarity with Khan, he added.

PTI Karachi President Bilal Ghaffar said party workers are deeply saddened over the assassination attempt on Khan. He said Khan is their red line. “Instead of providing security to Imran Khan, the imported government had planned a murderous attack on him.”

He demanded that the chief justice of Pakistan take notice of the incident. He claimed that Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan’s past is known to everyone. “Rana Sana is responsible for the attack on Imran Khan.”

Political parties

All political parties of Sindh strongly condemned the gun attack on Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan and other leaders of his party in the Wazirabad district of Punjab on Thursday.

Regardless of ideological differences, the parties, both part of the ruling alliance and otherwise, demanded a fair investigation of the incident. In a statement, former president and Pakistan Peoples Party Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari and PPP Chairman and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari condemned the incident, urging the authorities concerned to conduct a full investigation.

Also, Aseefa Bhutto Zardari tweeted that the attack is condemnable and those responsible should be punished. The Zardari family wished Imran Khan a speedy recovery and demanded a full investigation of the incident.

The Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan’s (MQM-P) Coordination Committee also condemned the assassination attack on the PTI chief. The committee members said that this incident is a question mark on the security arrangements of the local administration. They demanded that a full inquiry be conducted into the firing incident and that the responsible ones must be exposed.

Jamaat-e-Islami Sindh chief and former MNA Muhammad Hussain Mehanti strongly condemned the firing at the container of former prime minister Imran Khan and demanded that the incident should be investigated impartially. “The authorities concerned should take strictaction against those who were behind this incident.”

In a statement today, Mehanti said that peaceful protest is the constitutional right of every citizen and violence in politics is not in the interest of the country and the nation. He prayed for Khan’s speedy recovery and demanded that the government should protect political gatherings and solve problems with mutual understanding instead of using force.

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman regretted the attack on Imran Khan in Wazirabad. In his statement, he said that the firing incident on the PTI long march was regrettable. The performance of the provincial government in terms of security raised a question mark. “We condemn violence in politics and pray that Allah will give the injured a speedy recovery,” he said.

Pak Sarzameen Party Chairman Mustafa Kamal in his statement said that the PSP strongly condemned this sad incident of firing on Imran Khan’s long march. “The PSP is completely against violence in politics. This trend must be stopped and partial inquiry should be initiated,” said Kamal

Pakistan Muslim League Functional (PLM-F) Sindh General Secretary and Secretary of Information Grand Democratic Alliance Sardar Abdul Rahim said the GDA and the PML-F condemned the murderous attack on Imran Khan. “The elements involved in the attack should be exposed. The Constitution of Pakistan gives everyone the right to politics. It is unfortunate to target the PTI chief.”

Majlis-e-Wahdat-e-Muslimeen leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas Jafferi condemned the attack on Imran Khan and said that the target was not Khan but the peace and integrity of Pakistan.

The country is being pushed towards instability, and there is no hope for peace in the country with a minister like Rana Sanaullah, he said.

“A terrible attempt of assassination on Imran Khan was made but more people will come out against these thieves and murderers. The imported government and its facilitators are responsible for destabilising Pakistan,” he said.

Qomi Awami Tahreek President Ayaz Latif Palijo said the people of Sindh and his party condemned the firing on the long march led by former PM and PTI Chairman Imran Khan. Het Punjab and the federal governments should investigate this attack under the supervision of the Lahore High Court.

Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) Sindh President Tariq Hasan condemned the firing on Imran Khan and his colleagues. “Every party has the right to freely hold political activities. The federal government should take strict notice of this incident.”