Pakistan: PTI announces 'mass protest movement' in Lahore
Islamabad, Dec 26: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Friday announced that it would begin a street movement by welcoming Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi in Lahore and holding a public event at the Liberty Roundabout, local media reported.
PTI Punjab chief organiser Aliya Hamza Malik said the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will launch a "mass protest movement" as per the instructions given by PTI founder Imran Khan. She asked PTI's ticket-holders, office-bearers, workers and lawyers in Lahore to be present at Liberty Roundabout to welcome Afridi, Pakistan's leading daily Dawn reported.
Aliya Hamza Malik asked PTI members to play their part in “restoring constitution, law and democracy in the country”. She stated that it would be a "historic moment" to transform main boulevard of Lahore into a march to secure Imran Khan's release.
Imran Khan, who has been in prison since August, 2023, is serving a 14-year jail sentence at the Adiala jail in Rawalpindi in a £190 million corruption case and faces pending trials under the Anti-Terrorism Act linked to the protests held on May 9, 2023. Imran Khan's wife Bushra Bibi is also serving a seven-year sentence in the same case.
Last week, Imran Khan issued a call for nationwide protest and announced his intention to challenge the court's decision in the Toshakhana-II case in the Islamabad High Court.
His statement came after a Pakistani court on Saturday sentenced Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi to 17 years in prison in connection with the Toshakhana -II case.
The Toshakhana-II corruption case involves the purchase of an expensive jewellery set, gifted to Imran Khand by the Saudi Crown Prince during an official visit in May 2021, at a nominal price.
The verdict was pronounced by Judge Central Shahrukh Arjumand of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA)'s special court during proceedings conducted at Rawalpindi's Adiala jail, where Imran Khan is imprisoned.
Under the ruling, Imran Khan was sentenced to a total of 17 years in prison, receiving 10 years of rigorous imprisonment under several sections of the Pakistan Penal Code, and seven years under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
