PTI will hold public gathering in Swabi: Omar

ISLAMABAD: As the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) prepares for a significant gathering next week, senior party leader Asad Qaiser announced on Thursday that imprisoned party founder Imran Khan has approved the formation of a “grand opposition alliance” by expanding the existing Tehreek Tahafuz-e-Ayin-e-Pakistan (TTAP) platform.

“PTI decides to expand the opposition alliance in meeting with Imran Khan,” said the former National Assembly speaker during a media address outside Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail, accompanied by the party’s Secretary-General Omar Ayub Khan and others. He revealed that the former ruling party plans to unite all opposition parties to launch a robust anti-government movement.

Qaiser stated that the upcoming power show in Swabi aims to raise a “strong voice” for the release of PTI founder and other detained leaders. “This country will only be governed in accordance with the law and the Constitution,” he emphasized.

During his address, Qaiser criticized the current government for the soaring electricity bills, calling them “unacceptable” for the inflation-hit masses.

He also expressed support for Jamaat-e-Islami’s (JI) sit-in on Rawalpindi’s Murree Road, ongoing since July 26, against the significant increase in power bills.

Ayub, in the same press conference, urged the public to attend the Swabi gathering on August 5 in large numbers to show solidarity with the former premier and the “most popular party.” In his initial remarks, Ayub noted that during the meeting, the former prime minister condemned the killing of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh and criticized the West for not intervening in Israel’s actions against Palestinians.

Imran Khan called on the international community to take effective steps to ensure peace in Palestine and stop Israeli brutality in Gaza, Ayub stated.

Responding to criticism of the PTI founder for calling for negotiations, Ayub clarified that there was no discussion about dialogue, but Imran emphasized that the military belongs to the nation and vice versa. He accused the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) of trying to create a rift between the military and the nation.

Regarding the legal cases against the jailed ex-prime minister, the opposition leader stated that they are fighting for Imran’s release and blamed the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for preventing the release of former first lady Bushra Bibi despite her lack of involvement in the Toshakhana case.

The PTI secretary general called for Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa and Islamabad High Court (IHC) Chief Justice Aamer Farooq to recuse themselves from Imran Khan’s cases.

Imran Khan, 71, has been in prison for almost a year, facing numerous cases, including the Toshakhana, cipher, and un-Islamic marriage cases. His wife, Bushra, has also been detained for months. Although a court suspended his sentence in the Toshakhana case and other courts overturned his convictions in the cipher and iddat cases, hopes for their release in July were dashed when NAB arrested them on new charges related to the sale of state gifts. Imran’s chances of release further diminished after his arrest in new cases linked to the May 9, 2023, riots, following his acquittal in the iddat case.

Ayub emphasized the need for the justice system to deliver justice to the PTI founder, criticizing ex-premier Nawaz Sharif for returning from exile after “getting an NRO” and claiming that he only returned after Justice Isa became the CJP, not daring to do so under Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial.

Addressing a question on high electricity bills, the former power minister blamed the previous PML-N and PPP governments for approving expensive power plants and signing contracts with independent power producers (IPPs), leading to inflated power bills.

In response to the press conference, PML-N leader Talal Chaudhry countered that no matter how many alliances PTI formed, they would face the law for their alleged wrongdoings. Chaudhry remarked that alliances would not save them from punishments and urged the former ruling party to focus on public issues rather than maligning state institutions, despite having promised not to run smear campaigns against them.