Former ruling party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) top leadership on Sunday announced to hold a nationwide protest against the government on August 5.
During a press conference, Omar Ayub stated that the behaviour towards their parliamentarians has been unacceptable, pointing out that their MNAs are being picked up by agencies and presented before anti-corruption bodies.
He mentioned five intelligence agencies, explaining the uncertainty over which agency is responsible for these actions. Ayub emphasized that all their associates have been subjected to legal cases, which he attributes to the affidavits they submitted when joining PTI.
Recalling Imran Khan’s warning, Ayub noted that the current regime aims to create conflict between the army and PTI. He accused PML-N of attempting to pit the largest party against the army and stressed that immediate elections are the only solution to the political turmoil.
Ayub further announced a meeting the next day where decisions regarding a sit-in at D-Chowk would be made.
Asad Qaiser condemned the severe crackdown on their supporters, questioning the dignity of parliament if parliamentarians are humiliated in this manner. He urged the Supreme Court to take suo motu notice of the forced resignations of 41 MNAs and called on his lawyers to approach the SC, questioning the governance of the country under such conditions. Qaiser announced that decisions regarding protests would be made in their meeting, with plans for large demonstrations across the country on August 5. He highlighted that this date would mark one year of the PTI founder’s imprisonment and urged the public to protest against inflation and the illegal arrest of the PTI founder. Asad expressed concern over how the poor would survive the rising inflation and noted the decline in the textile industry.
Separately, Islamabad’s district and session court on Sunday handed over Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf spokesperson Raoof Hassan and others to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for a two-day physical remand and PTI’s Facebook head Syeda Arooba to judicial remand before Duty Judge Mureed Abbas under the PECA Act. The FIA prosecutor stated that transcripts of anti-state videos were attached to the record and required forensic analysis, requesting an additional eight days of physical remand.
Judge Mureed Abbas inquired whether Raoof had received a visa or ticket from India and if he admitted to chatting with someone named Rahul. The FIA prosecutor confirmed that Raoof had a travel ticket from India.
However, Raoof explained that he runs a regional think tank and that Rahul, who lives in the UK, invited him to Bahrain as a guest speaker. He mentioned being a senior fellow at King’s College London and clarified that his responsibilities involve dealing with electronic media, not social media.
The FIA prosecutor revealed that Arooba handles PTI’s X account and has not yet surrendered the accounts. PTI’s lawyer argued that Arooba is an employee managing PTI’s social media accounts, and the entire case hinges on mobile phones, all of which are with the FIA.
Advocate Ali Bukhari requested the discharge of Rauf Hassan and others from the case. After hearing the arguments, the court sent Raoof Hasan on two days physical remand.