GUJRAT - PTI chief Imran Khan has said he will not end the Islamabad sit-in till the prime minister steps down as he gave call to all Pakistanis to attend the capital sit-in on November 30 to negate the impression that their protest campaign was withering away.
Addressing a big public meeting at Zahoor Elahi Stadium in Gujrat, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chairman also announced setting up a dharna (sit-in) fund and appealed the people to give donations.
“I want money from you, the public. You will run my sit-in… If I get the funds, the movement will spread throughout the country,” he said. “I will not leave the container without PM’s resignation and will continue standing for human rights in Islamabad sit-in,” he added.
Imran announced that he will stage a show of power in Islamabad on Nov 30 and the government will not be able to stop the sea of the people in Islamabad. He said PTI supporters from across the country will gather in Islamabad as ‘time for change has come’.
He said that every Pakistani will be raising ‘Go Nawaz Go’ slogan on November 30. “No matter how many containers Nawaz Sharif deploys on November 30, every Pakistani will arrive in Islamabad,” he said, adding that he will not end the sit-in.
Praising Qadri, he said the PTI will never forget how PAT people faced the hardships on the night when the Nawaz government committed state terrorism. “I am thankful to Dr Qadri-led Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) for sitting alongside the PTI for over two months in Islamabad, but I am not going to give up on my quest for Naya (new) Pakistan,” he said.
“We have to continue the Dharna because we have to give the verdict if we want a free Naya Pakistan,” he said.
“If the time comes that masses exhaust and leave or we run out of funds for arrangements, I will sit there alone in a tent.” He said the PTI leadership is a witness that he has stated it clearly that he will not leave without Nawaz resignation. “If you remember me as a cricketer then you would know that I won’t retreat, I would fight till the end,” the PTI chief said.
He told the PTI supporters that they have made history with 72 days of protests, adding he would not leave and stay at the Dharna till he lives because he has faith in the nation. “Nawaz and his company thought that the people will not come and the Dharna will end. You are wrong, Nawaz,” he said, alleging that the PM was not tendering resignation because he has started several projects in which he was going to get commission.
Imran also announced that he would hold a series of rallies – going to every city of the county – after Muharram, adding that two public meetings will be held in Punjab to mobilise public for the November 30 gathering in Islamabad.
He expressed grief over the suicide attack on JUI-F chief Fazlur Rehman but said that he was really hurt by the words that Fazl uttered for the Pakistani women. “We talk of Iqbal’s Pakistan and Islam. Is that Western civilization?” asked Imran. He said that the PTI wanted women to contribute to national progress.
Repeating his claims of election rigging, he said the 2013 elections were the most fraudulent elections in the history of the country.
“We have exploited all avenues but justice has been denied at all forums. I have been demanding scrutiny of four constituencies for the last 16 months,” he recalled. He said he had been asserting for the last 16 months that if justice is denied, the PTI will take it to the streets.
The PTI chairman also criticised former president Asif Zardari and said he has questioned the source of PTI funds. “Let me clear it that our source is different from yours!” He said, “When I started SKMH people asked me how I will run it - I told them that you have made it and you will run it. It is being run by you today!”
Talking about the violation of working boundary by India, Imran said that poverty can’t be ended through weapons. He said Indian PM Narendera Modi has a golden opportunity to solve the Kashmir issue but he is on the wrong path. “I’m listening to his speeches nowadays. He has been saying a lot against Pakistan lately which is by no means helpful for the peace between the two countries. Resolution of Kashmir issue can reduce poverty of the people living on both sides of the border,” he said.
Talking about the resignation of PTI MNAs, he said that the prime minister is forbidding the National Assembly speaker from accepting the resignations. “Who is Nawaz Sharif to accept or reject our resignations,” asked Imran. He said that the PTI has decided in principle that if any of its members attended National Assembly session, his/er party membership will be cancelled.
While Imran Khan was addressing the rally his followers destroyed a drone camera deployed by a private TV channel to cover the rally. The last shots captured by the drone camera were that of a stick flying much like a spear towards the drone destabilising its flight. PTI followers determined to bring down the drone, hurled another projectile at the DJI Phantom which sent the quadcopter plunging to the ground.
Addressing the gathering, AML chief Sheikh Rasheed said that Imran will jam the wheels in the country after Muharram. He said the PTI and allied parties wanted to do healthy politics. He condemned attack on Fazlur Rehman but regretted the JUI-F chief’s using bad words against women.