Senior PTI leader Asad Qaiser on Tuesday said the party had called for a “symbolic hunger strike” against Parliament, demanding the National Assembly speaker’s intervention against the “prosecution and harassment” of party leaders.
Earlier this month, while speaking to reporters in Adiala Jail, incarcerated former premier Imran Khan had said he was mulling the decision to go on a hunger strike if justice was denied to him.
To register their protest, PTI Chairman Gohar Khan, Qaiser — who is also the former National Assembly (NA) speaker — Ali Muhammad Khan, and several other PTI leaders were seen sitting outside the Parliament today.
While speaking to the media outside the Parliament, Qaiser said that the party had started a “local protest” against their victimisation.
“We don’t want to create any [unfavourable] law and order situation in the country,” Qaiser told journalists while sitting outside the parliament.
“But given what is happening to us — the ongoing campaign against us, the pressure on our MNAs, the cases against them, and the offers being made to sway their loyalties — what other option do we have?” he said.
“We have, therefore, decided to do this [protest].”
On the other hand, Gohar Khan said that parliamentarians did not need permission to stage a protest on the premises of the Parliament.
“This is our right, we are parliamentarians, and parliamentarians are entitled to conduct themselves however they want within the premises of the parliament”, he said. “We can express our opinions [here] however we want.”
He said the protest conveyed the party’s position against the “injustice, unfairness, and the illegal and unconstitutional things that are happening [to us].”
He added that PTI parliamentarians were staging a sit-in to uphold the law and the constitution, despite having reservations about some “strangers” occupying parliamentary positions.
Raoof Hasan handed over to FIA for 2-day physical remand
Meanwhile, Judicial Magistrate Muhammad Shabbir granted the Federal Investigation Agency a two-day physical remand of PTI spokesperson Raoof Hasan and other arrested PTI leaders to “facilitate” the probe.
A day prior, Hasan was apprehended by the Islamabad police as the interior ministry accused the party of peddling “anti-state propaganda”.
The magistrate ordered the suspects’ appearance before the court on Thursday.
Separately, the PTI’s central secretariat was also sealed by the Islamabad Metropolitan Corporation for not having fire and life safety standards and measures in place.
This is a developing story that is being updated as the situation evolves. Initial reports in the media can sometimes be inaccurate. We will strive to ensure timeliness and accuracy by relying on credible sources, such as concerned, qualified authorities and our staff reporters.