‘Govt Invited Public Wrath’: From Islamabad to London, PTI Party Cadres Told to Take Out Mass Protests

From Islamabad to London, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has called for protests denouncing the arrest of former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan. A report by CNN-News18 said that PTI supporters stormed the Pakistan Army headquarters in Rawalpindi and the corps commander’s residence in Lahore.

The party has demanded a nationwide shutdown and said they are ready to bring the government machinery to a grinding halt in order to assure former prime minister Imran Khan’s safety.

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Shah Mahmood Qureshi, a senior leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, has stated that they are fighting to release Imran Khan from what he calls an “illegal abduction.” He also urged the party members, workers, and the people of Pakistan to join them in peaceful protests against this unconstitutional behaviour. Qureshi accused the authorities of using chemical water and firing indiscriminately at PTI workers and alleged that his offices in Multan were raided, and his staff was beaten up.

The former foreign minister of Pakistan said that the arrest was connected with the London visit of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, hinting that his elder brother, Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) (PML (N)) chief and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif played a role in his successor’s arrest on Tuesday.

Imran Khan was arrested for taking bribes worth PKR 5 billion and land worth hundreds of kanals from a real estate firm for legalising to whitewash at least PKR 50 billion.

The former foreign minister was quick to deny allegations of reports of violence amid street protests by the PTI and said the government invited public wrath. “The people of Pakistan across the country took to the street to protest the arrest of Imran Khan. They are peaceful and only want their beloved leader’s safety. The people are protesting on their own,” Qureshi said.

He referred to Imran Khan’s final video released on social media before his arrest, where he says he is mentally prepared for his arrest, and said that the Shehbaz’s London visit had a role to play.

Shehbaz Sharif visited London to attend the coronation of King Charles III.

PTI supporters in London gathered outside Avenfield House, the Park Lane home of PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif, and chanted anti-Nawaz slogans on Tuesday evening. A large number of PTI supporters had assembled on Dunraven Street, which leads to the gated apartment block where Sharif and his family live.

(with inputs from the Dawn)

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