Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan warned on Wednesday that his party’s ‘Haqeeqi Azadai’ movement would not end in Islamabad and would continue unless the free and fair elections were held.

“Why are the institutions delaying holding transparent elections if they decided to remain neutral and apolitical,” the PTI chairman questioned while expressing his concerns over hindrance in elections.

“You all have to support me. I tell you everyone that it’s better to die than becoming slaves,” he said urging the nation to join the PTI long march against the incumbent government.

The PTI chief said that his war was against the powerful group “that is occupying the country. System of justice is important to break the shackles of slavery”.

Imran Khan reiterated that actual freedom would only come when justice was delivered to the people of the country.

Imran Khan said that the future of the country would be in the hands of plunderers. Taking a jibe at Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, he said that Dar became the finance minister of the country who confessed to being a money launderer of the Sharif family in the year 2000.

The former prime minister said that he would never accept these ‘thieves’. “If I have to be a slave under these thieves then death is better for me.”

Speaking about the tragic death of senior journalist Arshad Sharif, who was shot dead by the Kenyan police in what it said was a case of mistaken identity, the PTI chairman asked who forced Arshad Sharif to go abroad and leave Dubai.

Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said on Wednesday that PTI’s long march could be allowed to enter Islamabad if the party gave the court assurance of peaceful protest.

“There is always room for negotiations in politics, no politician closes the door for negotiations,” the interior minister said addressing a press conference in Islamabad.

He, however, urged Imran Khan to shun his agenda of chaos and sit with the political forces of the country to find a political solution to issues.

Sanaullah said that the government could hold dialogues, but whenever “we talk about negotiations, Imran Khan starts hurling abuses because he [Imran] is not a politician but a political terrorist”.

The interior minister said that PTI had approached for permission to stage their protest in Islamabad. However, he added, that they could only be allowed to enter the federal capital if they gave assurance to the court of peaceful protest.

“It is necessary to maintain law and order situation but will not restrict the freedom of expression.”

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairperson Imran Khan said on Wednesday that the country cannot progress until everyone is equal in the eyes of the law while urging people to stand up for justice.

“No one should be above the law,” he said addressing the participants of the ‘Azadi March’ at Rahwali Cantt, Gujranwala. The former premier said that the purpose of rule of law for both the powerful and weak was justice, adding that Singapore eradicated corruption through rule of law and justice for everyone.

Imran Khan said that cases against Sharif family and Asif Ali Zardari have been quashed and now “they have been imposed on us”.

Turning his guns to the incumbent prime minister, the PTI chief alleged that Shehbaz Sharif was close to getting convicted in the Rs 16 billion corruption case. “All officers investigating Shehbaz’s corruption cases died one after another. No one asked how they died all of a sudden,” he added.

The PTI chief said that he had no control over the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), adding that those who were controlling the NAB had earlier decided to take action against corrupt people and later gave NRO to the thieves.

He said that the NAB law had been amended and “now only small thieves would be arrested”.

The ousted premier urged the people to join PTI long march and stand with him when his long march would reach Islamabad.

Chairman PTI said that Imran Raza, an officer of Rana Sanaullah, committed suicide and there was no investigation into Imran Raza’s suicide.

LAHORE: A teenager riding a motorcycle was killed on Wednesday when a container-laden truck of the PTI hit him from the rear end at the Pindi Bypass in Gujranwala, rescue sources said.

Rescue officials said that an 11-year-old got injured in the accident. They were supposed to take part in the PTI’s anti-government campaign.

The driver of the truck fled from the scene after the accident. Sources said that the PTI truck was about to participate in the long march under the leadership of local leader Chaudhry Muhammad Rizwan Mustafa Sial.

The people had blocked the road after the accident in a protest and chanted slogans against PTI chief Imran Khan.

Rescue officials have shifted the body and injured to the nearest hospital.

As the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s long march entered its sixth day, party leader Fawad Chaudhry told the government that their date of arrival in Islamabad will keep changing ‘to keep the government guessing’. He was addressing a press conference in Gujranwala.

The march began on Friday and has progressed slowly amid a barrage of addresses by PTI leaders and press conferences from the federal government, with PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif even tweeting that ex-PM Imran Khan had failed to gather even 2,000 people.

Fawad Chaudhry dismissed the criticism of the march’s pace, adding that the aim was maximum mobilization. “The participants will tell their children that they were part of something great,” Fawad said, drawing a comparison to the Pakistan movement. He also said that everyone dissatisfied with Pakistan’s current state of affairs should become part of the march.

Named the ‘Haqeeqi Azadi March’, PTI Chief Imran Khan’s latest campaign has been repeatedly called a ‘revolution’ by party members. Chairman Imran Khan has said that the aim is to force the Shahbaz Sharif-led federal government to call early elections.

Fawad said that the government wants to delay elections until the nation’s stolen wealth was successfully stashed beyond the scope of investigation and recovery. He added that this march’s objective had gone beyond just getting the government for the PTI but had turned into a matter of saving the country.

PML-N vice president Maryam Nawaz addressed a press conference in London, where she labelled the march as a movement by Imran Khan to get an army chief of his own liking appointed. In response Fawad simply said that Maryam Nawaz should come back and face the PTI chief in elections now that her name had been cleared by the courts.

He also requested the National Assembly speaker to accept the remaining resignations from the PTI. “Imran Khan will contest from all 120 seats,” he said.

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad administration was sent a notice by the Islamabad High Court on Wednesday on the PTI’s request for a sit-in and procession in the federal capital. The administration’s officer concerned would also have to appear before the court.

IHC judge Justice Amir Farooq presided heard the PTI petition. The former ruling party, which is on road to its anti-government ‘Azadi March’, had moved the court against the Islamabad administration’s decision to not give it permission for the request.

“The PTI had requested for the NOC for ‘Haqeeqi Azadi March’. The Islamabad administration is delaying this matter,” Ateequr Rehman, the lawyer of petitioner Ali Nawaz Awan, said.

The Imran Khan-led party has asked the capital administration to allow permission for holding a rally on November 6 and November 7.

Petition

PTI, a peaceful party, does not intend to does not believe in confrontation with a state institution, said the petition.

“There was no other choice than going into the public after the conspiracy hatched to change the regime,” it said, adding that the PTI decided to start the long march in view of the “prevailing” economic, mismanagement and bad condition.

The PTI long march, which started from Lahore’s Liberty Chowk, would end in Islamabad.

In what can best be described as an accidental spill, Federal Minister for Power Khurram Dastgir admitted that the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz was behind the anti-Imran Khan banners that greeted the PTI’s long march in Gujranwala on Tuesday.

He made the remarks on Hamid Mir’s TV show Capital Talk. Shoaib Shaheen, the president of the Islamabad High Court Bar Association was also present at the show.

The PML-N leader was speaking about how his party still did not have a level playing field in Punjab. While elaborating his claim that Punjab Police was facilitating PTI’s long march to Islamabad, Dastgir quietly let it slip that the police had started taking down the anti-Imran banners “as soon as we started putting them up.”

Host Hamid Mir was quick to pounce with a cackle, “So you were putting them up?”

As PTI’s ‘Haqeeqi Azadi March’ entered Gujranwala on Tuesday, it was met with banners hurled throughout along the route and attributed to ‘citizens of Gujranwala’.

The banners said, “Wristwatch thief, Toshakhana thief, Imran Khan is rejected!” and “Foul language against national institutions is rejected!”

One variant said, “Gujranwala will never forgive those who split up Gujranwala!” This is presumably in response to the PTI-led Punjab government’s proposal of turning Wazirabad tehsil of Gujranwala into a new district. Pundits had speculated that the step was aimed at denting the influence of PML-N in a division that has traditionally been its stronghold.

PTI’s long march also came under attack in the same city in 2014, when the procession was pelted with stones, and the party workers also exchanged intense sloganeering with PML-N workers. PTI leaders had to take cover as they passed through PML-N strongholds. This time, however, the anti-march sentiment seems to be limited to banners only.

The ‘Haqeeqi Azadi March’ is set to resume the sixth day of its slow progress to the capital, hoping to force early elections in the country.

LAHORE: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf would resume its anti-government campaign, ‘Azadi March’, from Rawalpindi bypass, Gujranwala. It would be the sixth day of the PTI’s long march.

“The cavalcade will leave at 11:30am [from Gujranwala] under the leadership of Imran Khan,” Musarrat Jamshed Cheema, the Punjab government spokesperson said in a statement. “PTI chief Imran will address party workers at Rahwali.”

They will stop at Gakhar after the former premier’s address. “The people are fed up with the PDM and looking towards Imran. Incidents such as restrictions on freedom of expression and violence against journalists are common in the fascism of the imported government.”

In an apparent reference to the incumbent government, she alleged that the group rejected by the people was allowed to “openly propagate” while her party, which according to her was supported by the people, was not allowed to speak.

Musarrat said that the Pakistan Democratic Movement, despite having all the resources could not convince the people. She claimed that the government was irked by a large number of people at the long march.

“If there is no threat from the Azadi March, then why the government has approved a grant of Rs410 for the security of Islamabad,” she asked, “thousands of FC, police, and Rangers personnel have been deployed in the federal capital because of this fear.”