ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Monday called upon Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Nasirul Mulk to take suo motu notice of the police crackdown on peaceful protesters of his party.

“My honourable judges, it is our constitutional right to protest peacefully against the rigging in last year’s elections and it is your right to provide us justice because the police are arresting supporters of the PTI,” he said while addressing the participants of the sit-in at D-Chowk on Monday.

The PTI chief also assured the judges of the Supreme Court that the participants of both PTI and PAT sit-ins would remain peaceful.

“I guarantee that supporters of both parties will not get involved in any kind of violence. But we will stay here until the resignation of the prime minister who stole the mandate of the nation by rigging the elections,” he added.

“If the police arrest you, you should ask them for warrants,” he told his supporters, adding that it was illegal to arrest peaceful participants of the sit-ins.

“Some people claim that there are only 500 people in the sit-in. But if there are 500 people, why 30,000 policemen have been deployed to control them?”

Says participants of both PTI, PAT sit-ins will remain peaceful

Mr Khan also asked his supporters to put up a good show at the sit-in on Friday.

“No matter how many policemen are deployed in Islamabad, a sea of people will turn up on Friday,” he said.

The PTI chief also said he would not spare Nawaz Sharif and continue his struggle until the creation of ‘new Pakistan’. He said Nawaz Sharif was going to lose this match soon and was taking decisions based on fear.

“The people of the flood-affected areas were chanting ‘Go Nawaz go’ slogan during my visit to Jhang and Chiniot today.”

He said Balochistan Chief Minister Abdul Malik Baloch had also won the elections through rigging.

The PTI chief said Pakistan was included in the list of 10 countries which were being considered as failure states in the world. He said foreign investors were not ready to invest in Pakistan due to government’s corruption.

The World Economic Survey already stated that the economic situation of the country was not up to the mark, he added.

Earlier, PAT chief Dr Tahirul Qadri said it was the success of his supporters that the judiciary had directed the authorities concerned to register a case against 11 people, including the prime minister, the interior minister and Khalid Khattak, the former IGP Islamabad.

Dr Qadri also withdrew the campaign of writing ‘Go Nawaz go’ slogans on currency notes.

“After the statement of the State Bank governor that it was illegal, I have taken back my call,” he said.

However, the PAT chief announced his decision to launch a ‘Go Nawaz go’ campaign through SMS on mobile phones and social media sites.

He also said the rulers had failed to deliver under the so-called democratic system.

“We will distribute state land among the poor farmers of the country.”

He said 90 members of the parliament had reached the assemblies through rigging in the elections.

Published in Dawn, September 16th , 2014