Islamabad, July 26 (IANS) The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders have announced that they will approach the court to seek permission for holding a protest on August 5 as the Lahore Deputy Commissioner Syed Musa Raza has not yet responded to their request for holding a peaceful gathering, local media reported on Sunday.
While addressing a press conference at the Lahore Press Club, PTI Lahore President Mian Akram Usman said the party had applied to the Lahore Deputy Commissioner for permission to hold a peaceful protest; however, they have not yet received a response, Pakistan-based daily Dawn reported.
Usman added, “Against this silence, we will go to court and execute our August 5 plan.”
PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja said that party founder Imran Khan was being held in solitary confinement and was not allowed to meet lawyers despite facing 300 cases.
Akram Raja added, “After the 26th Constitutional Amendment, expecting justice from the courts is tantamount to deceiving yourself.”
He said that public movement in Pakistan on August 5 is a call from Imran Khan and his sisters and expressed hope that people of the country would come out on the streets.
Last week, the PTI Parliamentary Committee decided to hold a nationwide movement starting August 5 for the release of party chief Imran Khan and to raise other demands, according to local media.
August 5 will mark the completion of three years of Imran Khan’s imprisonment.
The decision was taken during a meeting chaired by PTI’s Interim Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan held in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. During the meeting, the PTI leaders discussed matters about the party’s Parliamentary affairs, Dawn reported.
Speaking to Dawn, PTI General Secretary Salman Akram Raja said that the lawmakers decided to choose August 5 to launch its movement, which will include public meetings, demonstrations and a long march.
He also added, “It was also decided that Mehmood Khan Achakzai and Allama Raja Nasir Abbas’s opinions will be sought for finalising the protest plans and other activities.”
While addressing a press conference, Gohar Ali Khan said that the meeting discussed the health of Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi.
He added that August 5 will mark the completion of Imran Khan’s third year in prison.
He said that courts were not giving justice to Imran Khan and injustice in Pakistan must end.
–IANS
akl/khz
