ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leadership on Monday reiterated its resolve to hold a public meeting at Rawalpindi’s Liaquat Bagh on April 9 at any cost to mark the removal of Imran Khan-led government in 2022.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister (CM) Sohail Afridi and PTI KP President Junaid Akbar spoke to the media at KP House after attending a meeting of opposition parties at the chamber of Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Mahmood Khan Achakzai.
They warned that if any hurdles were created in holding the public meeting, they would stage a peaceful protest demonstration at the same venue. The KP chief minister made it clear that PTI workers were a political force and not an armed mob, alleging that the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-N led government’s objective was to silence the PTI founder.
He urged the government to issue a no-objection certificate (NOC) for the rally, assuring that the party would make all arrangements for the proposed political activity, which he said would remain peaceful.
Afridi also criticised the federal government over the country’s economic situation, claiming that 45 per cent of the population lives below the poverty line and that key indicators, including GDP, reflected a deteriorating economy.
“The entire country should reflect on where Pakistan stood on April 9, 2022, and where it stands today,” he said. He alleged that the PTI government was removed through a foreign conspiracy in closed-door decisions, adding that those brought into power through this process had failed to steer the country forward.
PTI KP President Junaid Akbar reiterated that the party would hold the rally on April 9 at any cost, stressing its constitutional right to peaceful protest. He said there was no justification for denying the NOC for the political event.
He warned that protests would be held wherever necessary if the party was prevented from organising the rally, terming it a democratic right. Earlier, opposition parties held a long-awaited meeting of their parliamentary leadership to review key national issues and formulate a joint strategy for action inside and outside parliament.
Participants included PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate Nasir Abbas, and PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja, among others.
