Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan has given a “final call” of Nov. 24 for his party’s long-threatened march on Islamabad, his lawyer and sister announced on Wednesday.
Addressing media outside Adiala Jail after meeting Khan, lawyer Faisal Chaudhry said this was the “final call” for an anti-government protest. “Imran Khan has stressed that the party’s entire leadership will be part of the march,” he said, adding that while the march would conclude in Islamabad, there would be protests in its favor across Pakistan and anywhere in the world where Khan’s supporters were present.
According to Chaudhry, the PTI founder has formed a committee to organize the march. The names of the committee’s members will not be made public so they cannot be arrested prior to the protest, he added.
The lawyer said all party leaders are aware of their responsibilities and the designated committee would be empowered to call off the protest through consensus. He said Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur would lead a convoy from his province to Islamabad on Khan’s directions.
Chaudhry said the protest’s aim was withdrawal of the 26th constitutional amendment, return of the PTI’s “stolen” mandate, and release of all party workers awaiting trial in jail.
Separately, Khan’s sister Aleema Khan confirmed to reporters that Khan had designated Nov. 24 as the “final” call for the protest. She said he had urged all supporters, particularly students, to participate for the sake of their future. “He said it was time for Pakistanis to decide whether they wanted to live under martial law or enjoy freedom,” she said, adding the message was aimed at all Pakistanis, including farmers, lawyers, civil society, and students.
The protest, she said, would have four demands: rule of law, recovery of the “stolen” mandate, release of all “innocent” party workers, and a future as per constitutional rights. She claimed the 26th constitutional amendment had set the stage for a 10-year-long martial law and it was now time to resist such measures.