LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan spoke out against the recent arrest of party leader Ali Amin Gandapur on Saturday, stating that it was an attempt by the government to depict PTI members as “slaves.”
Speaking to party workers at his residence in Lahore, Khan urged his supporters to seek justice against the “wrongs being committed by the government.”
Gandapur was arrested on Thursday in Dera Ismail Khan in connection to an audio tape in which he allegedly threatened authorities and police against the possible arrest of Khan.
The PTI leader reportedly threatened to siege Islamabad if former Prime Minister Imran Khan was arrested. A local court on Friday sent Gandapur to central jail on a six-day judicial remand in separate cases filed by Islamabad and Punjab police.
During his speech, Imran Khan reminded his supporters of the attack on his house last month and urged them to gear up against the injustices being committed against his party members.
Imran Khan took a jab at Sharif
He also took a jab at Sharif, saying that a leader is not afraid and that “a coward doesn’t become a leader, they become Nawaz Sharif.” Khan added that his party’s fight is for “haqeeqi azadi (true freedom).”
The former Prime Minister, who was ousted last year following a no-confidence motion, has been calling for fresh elections in the country to regain power, claiming that his party has faced severe human rights violations and injustice. The PTI has also dissolved assemblies in provinces where it was in power to pressure the federal government into conducting polls.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has issued a schedule to conduct elections in Punjab on May 14, and the PTI has filed a plea seeking a date for polls in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as well.
However, the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif-led set-up has categorically refused to hold snap polls, citing economic turmoil in the country.
The arrest of Gandapur has sparked controversy, with the PTI calling it a political vendetta by the government. The party has vowed to continue its fight for justice and “true freedom”.
