PTI leader and ex-information minister Fawad Chaudhry Tuesday censured the PTI-ruled provincial governments saying they had disappointed the workers.
In a tweet, Fawad said the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab governments had disappointed the workers during the difficult times. “I want to make it clear to our provincial governments that the people have not voted for them just to become ministers,” he said. He noted that whether attempt to arrest Imran Khan, May 25 incidents, or arrest and torture of Shahbaz Gill and other workers; you (both governments) have disappointed them.
The ex-minister criticized that the people ruling over 25 kilometers of Islamabad have become goons. On May 25, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) supporters and police in Lahore and Islamabad had clashed as the former managed to push their way through the containers deployed on the streets and braved tear gas shelling after answering the ousted prime minister’s call for a long march onto Islamabad.
Authorities had blocked roads and arrested several supporters of the PTI in a bid to derail the Azadi March called by Imran Khan. The government had also imposed Section 144 to ban large gatherings in Lahore, the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad and Karachi, as well as other major cities. Barricades were erected around Lahore and the twin cities to stop vehicles from entering or going out, bringing life and traffic to a standstill.
Major roads, including the Grand Trunk Road and the M-2 Motorway, linking Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa with Islamabad were blocked to stop the protestors from coming to the capital. Educational institutions have been closed in the twin cities and all examinations for students cancelled. In the other incident referred by Fawad Ch in his tweet, PTI leader Shehbaz Gill was arrested by the Islamabad police on August 9, soon after he made controversial remarks on television that the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) deemed were “highly hateful and seditious”. The PTI claimed he was severely tortured, humiliated and even sexually assaulted during the custody.
The third incident Fawad was referring to in his tweet was an alleged attempt to arrest PTI chief Imran Khan. As reports of Imran Khan’s imminent arrest started making the rounds early on Monday, leaders of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and party workers and supporters took to streets in several cities to protest against the possible arrest of former prime minister and party chief Imran Khan. The call was given after PTI chairman Imran was booked in a terrorism case on the complaint of Islamabad Saddar Magistrate Ali Javed for allegedly threatening the additional sessions judge of the federal capital, Zeba Chaudhry.
Following the registration of FIR against Imran Khan, media reports said Islamabad Police late night deployed additional security around his Bani Gala residence. Personnel of Frontier Corps (FC) were also deployed while the roads leading to Khan’s house were sealed with barbed wires. The streetlights on the road from Imran Khan Chowk to Khan’s house were also switched off around midnight. However, sources privy to the matter told Daily Times that Imran Khan’s arrest will be made after approval from the federal cabinet, adding that late night moves were just to ‘scare’ the former prime minister.