Imran Khan announces to launch ‘Jail Bharo Movement’ on February 22
LAHORE, Feb 17 (SABAH): Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan on Friday announced that his party would launch their ‘Jail Bharo Tehreek’ on Wednesday, February 22, and said the interim governments would become unconstitutional if they failed to hold elections in 90 days.
Addressing workers through video link on Friday, Imran Khan said that after 90 days, the caretaker governments would be subject to the Constitution violation clause. “They [caretaker governments] will be violating Article 6 of the Constitution [if they remain in power after 90 days]. No matter what they do, we will not allow them to rig the elections.”
The former prime minister said that the wars and earthquakes don’t destroy a country but injustice does. He said the human rights were being violated during the past 10 months by targeting the political opponents, adding that party leaders Shahbaz Gill and Azam Swati had been subjected to torture in the jail.
“Whatever was done with former federal minister Azam Swati shocked the entire nation,” he said and added an attempt was made to silence PTI senior leader Fawad Chaudhary and noted politician Sheikh Rashid by arresting them.
The PTI chairman further said police didn’t even register an FIR of attempt on his life, adding that the JIT was deliberately sabotaged which revealed that the three people he was naming were involved in the assassination attempt.
Khan also announced that his party would launch their ‘Jail Bharo Tehreek’ from Wednesday, Feb 22, adding that they had completed their preparations and would start movement from Lahore before expanding it to other major cities of the country and fill the jails of the country to the maximum. “We are launching the movement for the public to overcome their fear of going to jail,” he said.
Firing fresh broadside at the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), the PTI chief said: “It is dangerous that the CEC [Chief Election Commissioner] is showing his inability on conducting the election.”
He said that they dissolved the provincial assemblies of Punjab and KP as per the knowledge that the country’s Constitution clarifies that the elections should be held within 90 days of the dissolution of any assembly. “The caretaker government and the interim chief ministers would be illegal on the 91st day,” he added.
No disaster could be bigger than that when the judiciary failed to ensure the implementation of the Constitution, he said while hitting out hard at the polls organising authority. “There is no justice where the rule of law collapses.”
Imran Khan said that they had been claiming that the coalition government did not have the mandate and they cannot run the country.
Lashing out at the incumbent rulers over the recently announced mini-budget, Imran Khan asked as if raising prices is a “tough decision.”
The government has broken the backbone of people by hiking the prices of all daily-use items, the deposed prime minister added. “[IMF] loans are not the solution to the problems being faced by the country.”
Taking a jibe at the PDM government, Imran Khan said: “They did not come into power via election but auction. The government does not seem to conduct elections in 90 days. They fear elections.”
The ruling alliance wanted to win elections through the rigging, he accused the authorities and at the same time warned that the PTI would not “keep silent over snatching of elections”.
According to the PTI chief, it seems that institutions are under pressure and the government is running away from elections.
He also vowed that the PTI would not let the government rig the elections, no matter what they do.
Turning his guns towards the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party in Sindh, the former prime minister said the PPP has no vote bank in Karachi but it showed achievement in recent elections in the metropolis.
Referring to journalist Arshad Sharif’s assassination and alleged crackdown against his party’s leadership, Imran Khan said that the government wanted to send them behind the bars, hence, they would launch a court arrest campaign across the country.