The Punjab police have intensified raids on Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf supporters and leaders ahead of the party’s protest on November 24 for the “restoration of democracy and judiciary.
The police conducted a raid at PTI leader Mian Mahmoodur Rasheed’s house in Lahore, with alleged CCTV footage of the operation surfaced on social media.
Incarcerated former prime minister Imran Khan has urged his followers to march towards Islamabad on November 24 for the “restoration” of democracy and the judiciary.
Former information minister Fawad Chaudhry claimed that the government would make the PTI’s protest successful allegedly by arresting PTI workers, blocking streets, and placing containers in the federal capital.
“The government will bring shipping containers before on November 21 and 22 and arrest PTI supporters,” he said while appearing on Rubaroo which was aired on Aaj News on Friday.
Rasheed’s son stated that his father has been in jail for the past year and a half, leaving only his mother at home. “I am currently in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa while the police continue to raid our home daily,” he said in a statement.
Amidst this, the PTI leadership met at the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur’s House in Peshawar to finalise their protest strategy for the demonstration in Islamabad.
Gandapur reiterated that the PTI founder has issued a final call to action. “We will take to the streets with our shrouds on. This time, Punjab must also prepare,” he said and instructed each National Assembly member from Punjab to bring 10 vehicles while members of the Punjab Assembly were asked to bring five.
PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan has advised party workers to arrive in Islamabad in convoys to avoid police arrests. “When there is no adherence to the Constitution and law in the country, the only path left is to protest. We will not return until all our demands are met,” he said.
Sources within the party revealed that former first lady Bushra Bibi made a brief address from “behind the scenes,” relaying instructions to the leadership based on Khan’s directives.
She reportedly said a “strong protest will be staged this time” and instructed all members to “bring 10,000 workers” from their constituencies for the protest.
Gandapur also discussed the upcoming protest with parliamentarians from Malakand and Hazara. He directed the party’s MNAs to “bring 1,000 individuals each while provincial assembly members were asked to bring 500.”
He urged party members to prepare for a sit-in until their demands were met. “Workers from KP and Punjab will gather at the Islamabad toll plaza,” he said.
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Sources within the party told Aaj News that some leaders on Friday highlighted that previous protests had predominantly featured participants from KP while Punjab’s representation was minimal. In reaction, the PTI’s leadership has assigned Punjab’s lawmakers the task of mobilising their supporters for the protest.
“We will bring back the machinery seized from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” PTI’s information secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram said.
He clarified that Bibi has not entered politics and has no political ambitions; rather, “she is focused on advocating for the release of her husband, the party’s founder.”
