Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Imran Khan promised on Saturday another round of street protests against the coalition government starting Sunday, telling supporters at the Islamabad rally that he would provide a roadmap for the nationwide agitation at the public gathering in Rawalpindi’s Liaquat Bagh tomorrow.

The PTI leader said this while addressing supporters at Islamabad’s F-9 Park, where he held a public rally to show solidarity with arrested party leader Shahbaz Gill and the ARY News channel that has been taken off air.

He said the PTI would to go to the Supreme Court against Gill’s arrest and alleged torture, and will also seek legal action against the Islamabad police chief and his deputy as well as the magistrate who sent Shahbaz Gill on physical remand.

At the start of his address, Imran cited the example of Mongol conqueror Genghis Khan. When Gengis Khan would conquer cities, he would erect a wall of decapitated heads while allowing some people to live, he said.

“Those who were allowed to live would tell tales of Gengis Khan’s brutality. This resulted in many cities surrendering to Mongol hordes without a fight,” said Imran while drawing parallel with the case of Shahbaz Gill.

“This is what the government is doing by torturing Shahbaz Gill. They want to tell us that if they can break him physically and mentally, then they can do it to anyone in Pakistan.”

He said Gill wasn’t tortured due to what he said about the army. “Nawaz (Sharif), Asif Zardari, Maryam Nawaz, Khwaja Asif and Fazlur Rehman have said worse,” Imran said, adding that it was being done to show how coercion can be used to silence dissent.

He said that media channels had also been told not to broadcast PTI rallies.

“Channels were pressured into not broadcasting PTI events. But the flood of people at PTI events was reported by social media, and then by ARY News. That is why it was taken off air and action taken against its journalists,” says PTI chief Imran Khan at Islamabad rally.

He cited the cases registered against ARY News journalist Arshad Sharif, the attack on Bol News presenter Sami Ibrahim and columnist Ayaz Amir as examples of such coercive measures. “Sabir Shakir is in Dubai because of this.”

He accused the coalition government of using state machinery to crackdown on PTI’s protest in Islamabad that left dozens injured.

Imran’s speech also referred to the ‘neutrals’, the term for the country’s Establishment. ““When I asked the Islamabad police officers about Shahbaz Gill’s arrest, they told me: We didn’t want to [arrest Gill] but we were pushed by boots.”

Before Imran several other leaders addressed those gathered in Islamabad. Sheikh Rashid, the Awami Muslim League chief and staunch PTI ally, said that Imran Khan enjoyed popular support. “Everyone is standing behind Imran”.

Earlier, the Islamabad administration said that it was unable to provide security for the public gathering while enforcing Section 144 in the federal capital barring public assembly.

The spokesperson for the Islamabad deputy commissioner said that PTI was putting the lives of its leadership as well as those participating in the public rally at risk.

In support of Gill

Imran has stated on multiple occasions that Gill, his chief of staff, was sexually abused during his physical remand in the custody of Islamabad police. Khan also announced nationwide rallies to protest against the arrest.

The former premier has led a nationwide agitation campaign - including massive public gatherings across cities big and small - for early elections since his ouster in a vote of no confidence on April 10.

“I will lead a rally in Islamabad on Saturday… and rallies will be held in all divisional headquarters across the country,” he told journalists outside PIMS hospital.

The PTI chief was unable to meet Gill after he wasn’t granted permission by the police on duty.

In a series of tweets, the PTI chief said that his party will leave no stone unturned to identify people responsible for the “gruesome torture” on Gill and bring them to justice.

“All the pictures and videos show clearly that Gill was tortured both mentally and physically including sexual abuse - most too gruesome to relate. He was humiliated to break him down I now have full detailed information”.

An Islamabad court had suspended the physical remand of Gill until Monday after reserving a verdict on a police plea for his eight-day physical remand in a case under sedition charges.

The court while rejecting the plea for extension in physical remand, directed the Islamabad police to transfer him to PIMS Hospital and conduct a complete medical check-up of the accused.