Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi said on Friday that the PTI’s long march towards Islamabad, which was originally scheduled for Sept 27, would now commence from Peshawar on Oct 4.
asserted
which → say → Oct
The announcement by the KP CM came during a press conference in Peshawar, where he said the PTI’s political committee had held a meeting and “unanimously agreed” to now commence the march on Oct 4 from Peshawar.
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committee → come → Peshawar
“This struggle of ours is just for the supremacy of the Constitution, restoration of the independent judiciary, media freedom and Haqiqi Azadi, as envisioned by Imran Khan,” he added.
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he → envision → Khan
The PTI has been gearing up for a nationwide protest and march towards Islamabad to press for the release of its founder, Imran Khan, who is currently incarcerated in Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail.
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who → gear → jail
Afridi claimed that Imran would be out of jail within half an hour if justice was served.
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justice → claim → hour
But, he rued, court directives were not been abided by, referring to court orders for Imran’s medical treatment and meetings with his family.
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directives → rue → family
“So when you are not heard even after adopting all legal and constitutional means, the Constitution allows you to protest peacefully,” he added.
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he → hear → means
Earlier, a senior PTI leader, who requested anonymity, also told Dawn that the march would now leave from Peshawar on Oct 4.
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march → request → Oct
“There was a proposal to exhaust the federal government and law enforcement agencies, as they have already closed down the federal capital and a number of routes,” he said.
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he → be → routes
The leader claimed that the PTI had already achieved what it wanted to do via the march.
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it → claim → march
“They have closed down roads and are spending hundreds of millions on law enforcement,” he noted.
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he → close → enforcement
Asked if the PTI intended to march alongside the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI), which had postponed its own protest march against the petroleum levy on the request of the premier, the leader said that the decision had nothing to do with them.
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decision → ask → them
“We are capable of arranging the march on our own,” he said.
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he → arrange → own
The development comes a day after a PTI leader had hinted at the possibility of postponing its protest march if the federal government agreed to hold elections within six to eight months, release Imran and other political prisoners, and investigate the May 9 and November 26 crackdowns on the opposition party.
uncertain
government → come → party
Advocate Naeem Haider Panjutha told Dawn that the protest could be postponed if these three assurances were given by the government.
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assurances → tell → government
Party spokesperson Sheikh Waqas Akram, however, had denied any such proposal was being discussed at any party forum, saying only Imran could take a decision even if such a proposal was on the table.
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proposal → deny → table
Preparations in the Rawalpindi Division and the federal capital territory to maintain security and deal with any emergency situation have been in full swing in light of the potential long march and other protests in Islamabad.
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Preparations → maintain → Islamabad
Punjab has already imposed a ban on gatherings across the province for 13 days and prohibited inciting people to “unlawful assembly”.
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Punjab → impose → assembly
A similar ban under Section 144 has been enforced in Islamabad for two months.
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ban → enforce → months
The Punjab government has also sent a letter to the interior ministry requesting mobile and internet services at specific locations in Rawalpindi and Attock to be downgraded or jammed on Sept 27.
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services → send → Sept
Meanwhile, the federal government on Thursday approved the deployment of Rangers in Islamabad and several districts of Punjab from Sept 20 to Oct 5.
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government → approve → Oct
“The deployed troops may respond appropriately in self-defence to any threats or violent activities encountered in the course of their duties as per rules/regulations in vogue,” the notification stated.
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notification → deploy → vogue
HRCP urges govt to de-escalate political tensions
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HRCP → urge → tensions
All three of Imran’s sisters — Uzma Khan, Noreen Khan and Aleema Khan — have been detained and there have also been reports of the arrests of PTI members and workers.
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three → detain → members
The Human Right Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) said in a statement on Friday that it “deplores the mounting arrests and preventive detention of PTI workers, lawmakers and leaders ahead of the party’s planned protest march”.
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it → say → march
Reports indicated that scores of workers, including women, had been arbitrarily detained, with some families claiming that they had no information as to the whereabouts of their relatives, the HRCP said.
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HRCP → indicate → relatives
It added that it was “incumbent on the state to uphold the right to peaceful assembly for all citizens”.
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it → add → citizens
“Pre-emptive mass detention and restrictions on freedom of movement cannot be justified as proportionate or necessary.
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detention → justify → movement
Moreover, repeated blanket restrictions, including the imposition of Section 144, are an affront to democratic principles.
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restrictions → repeat → principles
“We urge the government to de-escalate political tensions by resuming a purposeful dialogue with the opposition and to immediately release those who have been arbitrarily detained,” the HRCP said.
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HRCP → urge → those
Tarar takes aim at KP govt for ‘facilitating terrorism’
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Tarar → take → terrorism
Addressing a press conference on Friday, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar slammed the KP government, accusing it of avoiding taking steps to maintain law and order in the province.
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Tarar → address → province
He alleged that they also gave “full facilitation” to terrorists and called their policy on law and order “evasive”.
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they → allege → law
“In one way or another, terrorists have attacked all political parties in KP,” the minister said.
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minister → attack → KP
“But the PTI is held in high regard by terrorists.
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PTI → hold → terrorists
And not only do they avoid condemning terrorists, but they also fully avoid taking any sort of action against them.
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they → avoid → them
Facilitating terrorists is part of their policy.”
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Facilitating → facilitate → policy
He called KP’s PTI government the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan’s (TTP) “B-team”, and Tehreek-i-Taliban Afghanistan’s (TTA) “C-team”, claiming that it was facilitating the TTP while also “representing” the TTA.
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it → call → TTA
He also took aim at KP CM Afridi specifically, saying he “looks less like a chief minister and more like a TTP commander, in both his words and actions”.
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he → take → words
“When drones are fired at Kohat from Afghanistan, and the Pakistan Army and Air Force very skilfully take them down, you will not see any sort of condemnation or statement from KP government,” Tarar claimed.
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Tarar → fire → government
…and 9 more, not listed.
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