PESHAWAR: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf central leader MNA Sheikh Waqas Akram on Thursday reiterated the demand for the immediate release of all party leaders, workers and supporters from jail.

He also said incarcerated PTI founder and former prime minister Imran Khan had instructed the formation of a grand opposition alliance against the federal government.

Addressing a news conference at Peshawar Press Club, Mr Akram said that after its Tehreek-i-Tahaffuz-i-Ayeen-i-Pakistan conference, the opposition alliance demanded fresh general elections.

He said the PTI was trying to develop consensus among opposition parties about the struggle for elections.

“Anyone, who is opposed to the current fascist regime and wants to see the Constitution upheld in the country, will stand with us. We are approaching everybody who supports democracy, the rule of law and rights protection to join our protests after Ramazan,” he said.

MNA Akram says Imran instructed formation of grand opposition alliance

The PTI leader said that his party had challenged the entire 26th Constitutional Amendment.

He raised questions about the credibility of the Supreme Court’s benches formed after the passage of the 26th Constitutional Amendment and wondered how many people would accept their judgements.

Mr Akram said his party won the recent elections for the Lahore, Rawalpindi and Islamabad high court bar associations, showing the members’ support for Imran Khan.

“It’s a silent revolution,” he said, declaring poll results a strong reaction to the 26th Constitutional Amendment.

The PTI leader said that PTI loyalists should be immediately released. He said that despite production orders, Senator Ijaz Chaudhry was not allowed to attend the Senate sitting.

He said many PTI workers were put behind the bar but their bail pleas had yet to be heard.

“We shared all these grievances with Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi during his recent meeting with opposition leaders,” he said.

To a question, Mr Akram said that PTI leader Chaudhry Parvez Elahi was at his home and didn’t feel well.

He said that despite facing hardship, former chief minister Elahi didn’t ditch the PTI and stood with Imran Khan.

“All those, who didn’t follow Imran Khan’s orders to mobilise workers, will face issues in the next elections,” he said.

The PTI leader said that the party’s new president in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province would address issues as he didn’t have dual responsibilities.

He flayed the recent newspaper advertisements about the Punjab government’s one-year performance and said many development projects, successfully executed by the last PTI government in the province, had been advertised yet again.

About the expulsion of MNA Sher Afzal Marwat from the PTI, Mr Akram said that the party’s relevant committee was not satisfied with the lawmaker’s response to the show cause notice, so he was expelled on the orders of the party’s founder, Imran Khan.

On the occasion, adviser to the chief minister on sports and youth affairs Syed Fakhar Jehan said Gaddafi Stadium should have been named after former prime minister Imran Khan led the Pakistani team into winning the Cricket World Cup in 1992.

Published in Dawn, February 28th, 2025