Pakistan’s opposition launches anti-government campaign, demands release of ex-PM Khan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani opposition alliance on Saturday demanded release of jailed ex-premier Imran Khan in its first anti-government rally in Pishin, Balochistan, while vowing to hold nationwide public gatherings for the supremacy of the constitution and rule of law in the country.
Khan has been in jail since August last year and has been convicted in a number of cases. The candidates supported by his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party bagged the maximum number of seats in the February 8 elections despite a state crackdown against its leaders and workers.
The PTI has frequently claimed it won 180 National Assembly seats in the national polls, adding that its mandate was undermined after the authorities changed the election results to declare its rival factions victorious. The party formed the government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province after the elections but rejected the results in the central government and the other three provinces.
The PTI has joined hands with other opposition parties, including the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP), Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) and Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP), to oust the government by building public pressure against it.
In its first public gathering in Pishin to inaugurate the anti-government campaign, the six-party alliance urged all sections of society, including trade unions and bar councils, to join its struggle to uphold the constitution and rule of law in the country.
“Parliament should withdraw all cases against Imran Khan and his associates through a resolution,” said alliance chief Mahmood Khan Achakzai while addressing the gathering.
He said Khan was the leader of the majority party in parliament, and all cases against him should be withdrawn. He also criticized the state’s reaction to the May 9 violence last year, when Khan’s supporters attacked military installations following his brief detention on graft charges, saying heavens did not fall on that day.
The violence was followed by the crackdown against the PTI and its leadership, with the country’s army deciding to try many suspects in military courts.
“We have to bring a revolution with the support of the public,” he said, adding that it was important to legally stop the extensions of service for judges and generals.
Achakzai said the opposition alliance had decided to rise up against “oppression,” adding the purpose of the opposition’s movement was to ensure the supremacy of the constitution.
Earlier, the provincial administration of Balochistan imposed Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) in Pishin district, prohibiting a gathering of more than five people along with closure of highways.
Addressing the public gathering, Khan’s close aide and the leader of opposition in the National Assembly, Omar Ayub, demanded that the closed-circuit television footage of the May 9 incidents must be made public to reveal the facts about the day.
“The supremacy of the constitution will help secure the release of Imran Khan, other leaders and workers arrested illegally,” he continued, adding the opposition alliance would hold public rallies across the country to mobilize various segments of society, including students, trade unions and bar councils.