PTI workers get ready as long march to be announced in the offing: Fawad

ISLAMABAD, Oct 20 (SABAH): Senior Vice President Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and former federal minister for information and broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry has said that PTI’s long march was now a matter of days or a week because preparations were in the final stages. He said that former prime minister and Chairman PTI Imran Khan could make the announcement anytime soon; hence the party workers should get ready to achieve the real independence.

Addressing a press conference on Thursday, Fawad Chaudhry said that the PTI has always believed in peaceful protests not in violence and the long march would also be very peaceful and inshallah people would join in millions. However, he said that a wrong impression was being created about PTI peaceful marchers, adding that the PTI was a peaceful political party not like Ansar-ul-Islam or Gulo Butt Force. “We don’t have any sub-terrorist organization, as there are militant wings of PML-N and PPP,” he added. He went on to say that during the last 5 months, Imran Khan has held 60 public gatherings and 250 meetings regarding the long march, adding that the people were quite passionate in this regard because the party workers at tehsil level and unions were mobilized and were taken into confidence.

About possible talks, he said that the PTI never refused to hold talks with PML-N and PPP but no talks would be held for seeking NRO. “Whatever strategy would be made regarding the long march, it would be within the scope of the law and constitution,” he added He said that PTI supported local government but the first priority was general elections. “Imran Khan is going to universities across the country and addressing the students, because we have hope from our youth, and they will be the vanguard of this real independence movement,” he added.

Taking about the fascism of the imported government, Fawad Chaudhry stated that since May 25, the unfortunate events clearly depicted that there have been serious violations of human rights in Pakistan, as people including journalists, political activists and even social figures have been kidnapped, stripped naked and tortured.

He said that the tactics used to stop the real freedom movement were never seen in the history of the country, as they neither spared the young like Shahbaz Gill nor the elderly like Azam Swati, who were subjected to inhuman treatment, which was even unthinkable in dictatorship.

Fawad Chaudhry stated that the PTI has yet to give the final call of the long march but dwellers of the federal capital could be seen that huge number of containers were placed at various important places in the metropolitan. He lamented that four people lost their lives when a container fell on their vehicle few days ago, adding that it seemed no one cared about human lives and road closures.
Fawad Chaudhry stated that judges also pass through these highways but no one took any notice of the deprivation of freedom of movement under Article 15, as how can the government itself block all the roads.

The people have given their verdict, as after the no-confidence motion, a total of elections were held on 36 seats of which PTI stood victorious in 26. Fawad Chaudhry said that the Election Commissioner was continuously violating Article 5 of the Constitution and destroyed the Election Commission because he was acting as if he was part of the PDM.

He went on to say that there was no police to hold local elections in Karachi, but the Sindh police were ready to stop the PTI long march, adding that the  ECP should be ashamed now, as all the parties including PTI were questioning the role of the commission for not being capable to conduct fair and transparent elections.

Talking about PTI’s petition in apex court against audio leaks, he said that the PTI filed an important petition in the Supreme Court on audio leaks, in which we have raised the point that the office of the Prime Minister is a respected office, which is disgraced by leaking the secret conversations held there. He said that 8 GB data of the conversation took place in the PM office went on to internet, which could be easily downloaded by Israel or India, adding that there was discussion about the issues related to visit of Russia, about China, Afghanistan and Pulwama incident, which was a huge national security threat. “It is a joke to make Rana Sanaullah and Aminul Haq the head of the investigation committee in this matter,” he added.

Fawad Chaudhry demanded that the SC should form a high-level commission on the issue of audio leaks and appoint a supervisory senior judge on the matter to investigate and put the facts before the public. About Azam Swati’s custodial torture, he said that PTI senators have written a letter to the Chief Justice of Pakistan about his custodial torture, which was the biggest human rights issue in the country. He asked Chairman Senate and deputy chairman senate as what right did they have to sit in the Upper House if they could not protect their senator? “Small people have sat on the chairs due to which the institutions have also become small,” he added. Fawad Chaudhry stated that Senator Saifullah Khan Niyazee could not be contacted and he did not know about his whereabouts.