LAHORE - In the wake of a likely showdown between the government and the Supreme Court on the issue of election date, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan Friday urged the people especially lawyer’s community to gird up their loins to launch a mass movement for what he called the protection of the rule of law and democracy.
“As the PML-N, scared of the elections, seems all-set to launch an attack on the Supreme Court and the Chief Justice of Pakistan, I call upon the people, the lawyers’ community in particular, to be ready to come out on streets if the need be to save the rule of law, the Constitution and democracy,” the PTI chief said in a statement here. Imran Khan recalled that the PML-N had stormed the apex court in 1997 to attack the then Chief Justice of Pakistan Sajjad Ali Shah who was then hearing a contempt petition against Nawaz Sharif. “The PML-N is again threatening SC and CJP today because it wanted to evade elections”, he added. Imran Khan said his party was willing to talk to all political parties who were prepared to stand up against this conspiracy [to subdue the judiciary]. “I appeal to lawyers’ community in particular to take the lead again as they did in the lawyers’ movement of 2007 to protect Pakistan’s Constitution and rule of law”, he said. Separately, in a meeting with journalists at his Zaman Park residence here, Imran Khan said that there would be no compromise on the independence of the judiciary and the constitution. “Free and fair elections are the solution to all problems and the PTI will go to every limit for democracy”, he stressed, adding that the entire nation would support the lawyers’ movement if they came out on the roads. He said he was ready for negotiations with all stakeholders within the framework of the Constitution and law.