ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s jailed former prime minister Imran Khan told his party’s politicians on Tuesday to disassociate themselves from Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) if they could not participate in its power show slated for November 24.
Khan had given a “final call” last week against what he called the stolen mandate of the February 8 elections, the arbitrary arrests, and the ratification of the 26th constitutional amendment, which he claimed had reinforced a dictatorial regime.
Khan urged everyone to join the protest on November 24. “If any PTI leader or ticket holder is not able to ensure their participation in the protest, they should disassociate themselves from the party because this is the decisive moment when the entire nation will come out for freedom,” Khan said in a statement posted on his ‘X’ account on Tuesday. “The nation will not accept any excuse at such a critical time,” the statement added.
He called the protest a “golden opportunity to secure genuine freedom for Pakistan”, adding that “enslaved nations eventually die away”. He also decried the “enforced disappearances, brutality, and violence” against PTI workers.
Khan’s statement followed his wife Bushra Bibi’s recent warning to PTI politicians about tickets for the next general election. “The party tickets for the next general elections are linked with the performance of the PTI leadership during the upcoming protest in Islamabad,” she said, describing it as Imran’s message to the party leadership.
On Monday, PTI had announced it would not end its sit-in until its stolen mandate was returned, the constitution restored, and Imran set free.