Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has announced to hold a countrywide protest against the government on August 5 to mark the day when PTI leader Imran Khan was unlawfully arrested a year ago.
Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, PTI leaders including Opposition Leader Omar Ayub, former speaker of national assembly Asad Qaiser and Sheikh Waqas Akram alleged the government of taking retaliatory actions against its assembly members following a Supreme Court decision regarding reserved seats.
They called for the Supreme Court to take suo moto notice of the situation. They expressed their concerns and condemned the behavior of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his niece (Maryam Nawaz).
PTI Secretary General Omar Ayub stated that the government is pushing the military to the forefront, which could harm the institution. Recalling Imran Khan’s warning, Ayub noted that the current regime aims to create conflict between the army and PTI.
He accused PML-N of attempting to pit the largest party against the army and stressed that immediate elections are the only solution to the political turmoil. Ayub observed that the government’s behaviour towards their parliamentarians is not unacceptable, pointing out that their MNAs are being picked up by agencies and presented before anti-corruption bodies. He rejected the government’s stance on Form 47 and demanded immediate
new elections.
Ayub also alleged that intelligence agencies, including the ISI, interfered in the elections and claimed that PTI members were now being forcibly disappeared without any trace.