Imran Khan threatens to launch ‘Jail Bharo’ movement

LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Saturday asked his party leadership, workers and supporters to get ready for Jail Bharo Tehreek (court arrest movement), saying that he would make an announcement in this regard soon.

Imran’s comments come in the wake of sedition cases filed against his party’s Senior Vice-President Fawad Chaudhry and former member of National Assembly Shandana Gulzar, while Senator Azam Swati and Shahbaz Gill were booked earlier for speaking against the military.

Imran Khan, while addressing his supporters via video link, asked the workers and his party leaders to start preparation for the movement. Imran said that the ruling coalition was using tactics to delay the general elections, adding that he never saw an interim government in the country’s political history that was busy targeting opponents.

The PTI chief said” “We have two options: Considering what they have been doing, we could have gone for a wheel-jam strike and demonstrations which is also a way and a democratic one.

“But since the state of the economy is so bad, it’ll worsen. Therefore, I ask all my workers, the Pakistani nation and everyone to prepare for the Jail Bharo movement,” he said.

Imran also warned against any move to delay the elections in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkwa.

He said the governors of the provinces are supposed to give date for new elections so that polls could be held within 90 days of the dissolution of provincial legislatures.

The former PM said, “I was advised against dissolving assemblies but I did so keeping in mind that Constitution requires elections to be held within 90 days.”

The PTI chairman also revealed ‘powerful quarters’ used several tactics, including intimidation, to avert the dissolution of Punjab Assembly, but we secured confidence vote and dissolved the assembly.

He said that despite the passage of 18 days of the dissolution of two provincial assemblies, the Punjab and KP governors have not yet given a date to the ECP for new elections.

“After 90 days, the Article 6 will be applied to all those who are part of this [interim] governments if new elections are not held.

“Fawad Chaudhry was picked up from home at 3am. What did Shandana Gulzar do that made her a terrorist? As the court gives bail to Sheikh Rashid, more cases are being filed against him,” the PTI chairman said, saying how action had been taken against every person who called for the regime change.

“It was their plan to weaken Tehreek-e-Insaf by intimidation,” the PTI chief said.

Khan claimed his party never committed such atrocities in its tenure as the PDM-led government in the Centre had

The former prime minister said human rights violations have continued since the “imported government” arrived.

“No example can be found for the way Shehbaz Gill was tortured. The effects of the torture on him are still there,” Imran said.

Speaking about the attempted assassination on him, the PTI chairman said he couldn’t get the FIR of his choice registered despite being the former prime minister. However, he said, 60 FIRs were filed against him.

Slamming the PDM government for not being able to control the skyrocketing dollar rates, Imran said: “When the no-confidence motion came to the assembly on the basis of a conspiracy, the dollar was for Rs178. The dollar [rates] increased by Rs50 within a week.”

He said that Ishaq Dar, who used to claim to devalue the dollar and threaten the IMF, has knelt down before the Washington-based lender.

The former prime minister further said that Shehbaz Sharif accused the former KP government of not building a DNA lab in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, adding that “we had built a DNA lab in Khyber Medical College in 2017.”

Meanwhile, Imran lashed out at the government after authorities dismantled street vendor carts, provided during his rule under the Ehsaas Rehriban initiative, in I-10 Sector of the federal capital.

The PTI chief took to Twitter to share a slew of photos showing dismantled carts and products of vendors scattered on the roadside after what appeared to be an anti-encroachment operation.

“At the time of rising inflation and unemployment, this imported government showed its callousness again by demolishing street vendor carts in Islamabad’s I-10 sector, provided by our government under the Ehsaas Rehriban programme.”

Calling it a “condemnable inhumane act,” the former premier claimed that the government had deliberately targeted the poor and vulnerable segments of society.

Separately, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb has said the PTI leadership did not have the courage and capacity to launch the “fill the prison movement” in the country.

Addressing a news conference here, she said Imran Khan’s call for the movement was nothing but another political stunt, which was aimed at diverting people’s attention from corruption during his four-year (mis)rule, which ushered in extreme inflation, terrorism and economic crises in the country.

“A leadership always volunteers imprisonment first in such movements but here the leader was hiding behind the shield of women and children in the Zaman Park under the pretext of illness.

“Imran Khan does not need to launch any Jail Bharo Tehreek as the prisons will get filled automatically when he starts appearing before the courts to answer about corruption, loot and plunder during his four-year tenure as the prime minister,” she remarked.

Flanked by Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Faisal Karim Kundi, she said first the leadership would have to present themselves for the arrest in such movements, but ironically Imran was using his party workers as a shield to save his “dirty and stinking” politics as well as to cover up his corruption.

“How ironic it is that Imran Khan is urging his workers to get ready for the Jail Bharo Tehreek while hiding himself in his bulletproof Zaman Park residence,” she stated.

She said PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari remained in jail for 248 days while his sister Faryal Talpur was dragged from the hospital to jail on the occasion of Eid and the media channels were told to telecast that footage.

The minister said likewise, Nawaz Sharif spent 374 days in jail, Maryam Nawaz 158 days, Rana Sanaullah 174 days, Captain (retd) Safdar 53 days, Khawaja Asif 176 days and Hamza Sharif 627 days.

The story of political victimisation during the tenure of Imran Khan did not end here as Shahid Khaqan Abbasi remained behind bars for 222 days, Miftah Ismail for 142 days, Shehbaz Sharif for 340 days and Ahsan Iqbal 364, she added.

She said Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman was sent behind bars to set an example for the entire media that nobody would be spared if they dared to criticise Imran Khan’s government.

Marriyum said Imran Khan, who gave a call for filling the prison movement, had not only sent all the opposition leaders and media persons into jails but also set up a dedicated office in the Prime Minister’s Office which updated him regularly on the treatment meted out to them.

She said the same person during his visit to the United States announced that he would remove the air conditioners from the jail in which Nawaz Sharif was kept. He issued directives to the authorities concerned in the jail not to give a chair to Shehbaz Sharif for offering daily prayers.

She said “coward Imran Khan did not have the courage and capacity to launch such a movement.”

“The call for this movement is nothing but another stunt of Imran Khan who wants to divert people’s attention,” she reiterated, reminding the PTI chief that it was he who had ruled Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for the last ten years but did not build the capacity of KP police, nor provided the infrastructure to the department for curbing terrorism.

She said Imran did not participate in the Apex Committee meeting as he knew that he did not utilise the allocated fund of Rs471 billion for fighting terrorism in the province. His government failed to set up the counter-terrorism department and forensic lab in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He did not work on building the infrastructure as proposed in the National Action Plan and National Internal Security policy for fighting terrorism, she added.

The minister said Imran would have to answer why he violated the agreement with the IMF and brought the country so close to default, and failed to take practical steps to keep terrorism at bay in the KP. She said Imran was not fit to become a member of the National Assembly according to Article 63 (1) of the Constitution.

SAPM and PPP leader Faisal Karim Kundi has emphasised that all the political parties must be on the same page in fighting terrorism and stabilising the economy. He said that the all parties conference will be held on February 7 with the representation of all political parties and security forces to discuss strategies to overcome the challenges being faced by the country.

Criticising the PTI for poor law and order situation in the KP, Kundi said that PTI, which ruled the province for 10 years, is responsible for the unrest in the province. He asked that if the PTI leadership was fond of Jail Bharo movement then why they apply for bail after their arrests.

He said that the KP inspector general police briefed the Apex Committee in the recent meeting about the issues being faced by police officials, including lack of equipment despite provision of funds of Rs470 billion by the federal government and Rs70 billion of the NFC Award.

Kundi said the KP caretaker government will be asked to investigate the corruption in the Safe City project of Peshawar.

The SAPM strongly condemned the Peshawar Police Lines blast and said that the coalition government will take steps to restore peace in the province.