PTI sets up hunger strike camp outside for Imran, others’ release  

ISLAMABAD: The beleaguered Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) established a hunger strike camp outside the Parliament House, here on Tuesday, demanding the release of the party’s founder, Imran Khan, and other leaders.

The former ruling party has encountered several setbacks recently. Earlier in the day, authorities sealed its central secretariat in the federal capital, following the arrest of PTI’s Information Secretary, Raoof Hasan, and other party workers the previous day.

Hasan was detained by Islamabad police from the party’s Central Secretariat for allegedly running a digital media cell involved in anti-Pakistan propaganda.

Addressing journalists outside parliament, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan stated that the hunger strike would be observed daily until 8pm as a protest against the “injustice” and to advocate for Imran Khan’s release and the supremacy of parliament.

He conveyed the party’s concerns about “illegal and unconstitutional actions” to National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq. Gohar also voiced support for PTI lawmakers and their families being targeted.

Gohar condemned the sealing of the party’s secretariat, which the Islamabad administration attributed to “lack of fire and life safety arrangements.”

The notice cited outdated fire extinguishers, the absence of an emergency evacuation plan, a lack of an independent power source for the emergency system, and substandard electric wiring. Previously, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) had sealed the secretariat during an anti-encroachment operation, but it was reopened following Islamabad High Court (IHC) directives.

Senior PTI leader and former NA speaker Asad Qaiser demanded the release of Imran Khan, his wife Bushra Bibi, Hasan, and other detained party workers.

He blamed the federal government for the current lawlessness and inflation, calling on the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government to resign over “bad governance and economic mismanagement.”

PTI’s Secretary-General Omar Ayub Khan said the token hunger strike was in protest of the arrests of former premier Imran Khan, PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi, and other leaders and workers. Omar criticized the Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI) for resealing the PTI’s central office, suggesting the MCI should focus on its own deficiencies instead.

Omar also called for the resignation of the government, referring to alleged manipulation in the February 8 election results, and demanded fresh elections to resolve the country’s crisis.

Addressing the hunger strike camp, Shibli Faraz announced a countrywide protest on Friday, July 26, 2024, as part of PTI’s ongoing political struggle.

Several PTI lawmakers joined the hunger strike camp, including Gohar, Qaiser, Omar, Faraz, Latif Khosa, Ali Muhammad Khan, Falak Naz Chitrali, Sheikh Waqas, Senator Humayun Mohmand, Saifullah Abro, Shabbir Ali Qureshi, Sahibzada Sibghatullah, Mehboob Shah, Sajid Mohmand, Dawar Kundi, and others.