PESHAWAR: Former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Tuesday urged the country’s people to participate in the long march towards Islamabad and ‘leave fear behind’ after government decides to stop the protest.
“Their leaders, whose wealth is abroad, were brought in by the Americans, by a conspiracy, and after that I will accept these criminals – I believe death is better than slavery. This is why I have declared jihad,” the former premier said emphatically while addressing a press conference in Peshawar.
His speech came a day after a police crackdown on his party workers, in which a number of workers were allegedly rounded up. A policeman was also martyred the same night in an operation in Lahore.
Referring to the events of last night, he exhorted his supporters to “break the shackles of fear, for God’s sake”. There were 4,000 Britishers who ruled by fear over the more than 400 million people in the Subcontinent. “People were afraid,” he said, adding: “Fear makes slaves of humans.”
He lashed out at the government for trying to stop the party’s long march to Islamabad and described its recent moves as “akin to what dictators do”. Imran asserted that there was no difference between the “fascist government” and the military dictators of the past, saying that both used the same tactics.
The former premier maintained that during the PTI government’s tenure, the then opposition was allowed to stage protests and long marches several times. “They marched several times with the purpose of ousting the government but did we resort to these methods?” he asked.
The PTI chairman said that the country was looking towards the judiciary, telling them that this was their “trial”. “The country is going to look at your decisions,” he said, asserting that the long march was a peaceful protest and the party’s democratic right.
He went on to say that the PTI had a right to stage a protest against the “imported conspiracy”. “Did we protest when Bilawal staged a long march? Did we arrest him? Fazlur Rehman also staged a march […] we said we would help them.”
He then addressed the country’s bar associations, asking why they were not condemning the government’s actions. “I want to thank the lawyers of the country who are standing to protect the democracy of the country. But the bar associations that are not issuing condemnations, the nation is looking at you. Are you standing with the government?”
He asserted that “staying neutral” was no longer an option. “You have to decide which side you are on. God has not given us permission to walk in the middle, which means that you are helping the criminals.”
Addressing “those who call themselves neutral”, he said that they had taken an oath to protect the country’s independence and sovereignty. “You need to understand that the public is looking at you, and you will also be judged. You will be equally responsible if the country goes towards destruction,” he added.
He asserted that the only solution going forward was to conduct early elections. “There is no other solution,” he said, expressing the fear that the country was headed down the path of Sri Lanka, which is currently in the throes of an economic crisis.
In his message to the youth, Imran said that the country’s future was at stake. “There is no future if these leaders stay. There are two paths: one is destruction and the other is real independence,” he said, reiterating that he would set out tomorrow for the long march with his caravan.
