Saturday, 29 October, 2022 I 2 Rabi us Sani, 1444 I Rs 15.00 | Vol XIII No 120 I 12 Pages I Islamabad Edition
PTI LONG MARCH ON ISLAMABAD KICKS OFF
Imran comes out wIth guns blazIng agaInst establIshment g
ForMer PM TellS SPy cHIeF exercISING reSTrAINT To ProTecT ArMy, coUNTry
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PTI DeDIcATeS ProTeST To SlAIN ANcHorPerSoN ArSHAD SHArIF
photo by zubair mahfooz
ISLAMABAD
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staff report
day after the military accused Imran Khan of asking the establishment for “unconstitutional” support for his government in the run-up to the contentious vote of no-confidence, the former prime minister took a dig at two top generals, saying their press conference was more “political than Sheikh rashid”, the chief of Awami Muslim league (AMl). The scathing and unprecedented news conference by the chief military spokesperson and intelligence chief came after Khan upped his criticism of the military, accusing them of plotting his removal in April and supporting the government of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM). Putting to rest the assumption that he would observe restraint while commenting on the army, Khan thundered at the protest march: “DG ISI, listen carefully, the things I know […] I am staying silent for my institutions and the country. I don’t want to damage my country.”
He referred to the press conference held by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Senator Azam Swati earlier in the day in which the latter had revealed the names of the officers from the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency responsible for his custodial torture on him. “Azam Swati took the names of two people. one is Brigadier Faheem and one is Maj. Gen. Faisal. This Dirty Harry, ever since he has come to Islamabad, he is torturing people,” Khan alleged. “This Dirty Harry [sic] first picked up Azam illegally, stripped him naked and then tortured him in front of his grandchildren,” he claimed. “Faisal and Faheem did the same with Shahbaz Gill.” Khan then addressed the army chief and said: “When Bilawal Bhutto gave a statement against the ISI sector commander in Karachi, you removed the official. remove them [Faisal and Faheem] too now. “These people are defaming you Gen. Bajwa,” he said. The former prime minister gathered hundreds of supporters in liberty Square of lahore to join a caravan of cars and trucks heading
for the capital to pressure the government into calling snap polls. Khan plans to lead the motorised caravan slowly northwards up the GT road to Islamabad, drawing more support along the way before entering the capital in a week. The distance between the two cities is about 380 kilometres. Khan’s entourage is expected to arrive in Islamabad on November 4. By the time he gets there, Khan said he expects to have hundreds of thousands of people with him, and his party has asked authorities in the capital to allow a protest sit-in. “I want that all of you participate. This is not for politics or personal gain, or to topple the government […] this is to bring genuine freedom to the country,” Khan said in a video message on the eve of the march. Since April, when the chairman of PTI was ousted in a contentious vote of no-confidence, the political environment in Islamabad has been supercharged. Khan has repeatedly accused the PDM leadership of colluding with the army and the United States to remove him. He has organised large political rallies demanding that the government step down. last week, smaller protests by his supporters took place after the election commission of Pakistan (ecP) declared the former prime minister guilty of unlawfully selling gifts from foreign dignitaries and heads of state, removing him from his National Assembly seat. The government has repeatedly rejected Khan’s demand for elections. Writing for Foreign Policy, Michael Kugelman, deputy director of the Asia Programme at the Wilson center in Washington, argued the government’s position makes sense because “right now, [if the elections are held] the current government would likely lose elections.” ‘MARch fOR PRESS fREEDOM’: The party has dedicated its long march to Arshad Sharif, journalist and outspoken critic of the military who was killed under mysterious circumstances in Kenya last week, and members of the press. Addressing a press conference in lahore, party leaders Fawad chaudhry and Asad Umar said Khan was the only leader who could bring about “much-needed” change in Pakistan.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 05
PM thanks US over additional $30m aid for flood victims ISLAMABAD staff report
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday expressed gratitude to the United States for additional $30 million flood relief assistance for the flood-affected people of Pakistan. “Grateful to U.S. govt for the announcement of an additional $30 million in humanitarian assistance for flood victims,” he said in a tweet.He mentioned that with the onset of winter, the challenges of food, health and shelter still persisted. Shehbaz Sharif urged the international community to show urgency in contributing to the UN flash appeal on relief assistance for the flood-struck people of Pakistan.“World should promptly contribute to UN aid appeal to mitigate the impact of tragedy,” he said.U.S. Ambassador Donald Blome on Thursday announced an additional $30 million in humanitarian assistance to support flood-affected populations in Pakistan. This new funding brings the United States’ total assistance to Pakistan for flood response, food security, and disaster preparedness and capacity-building efforts to $97 million this year. The new funding, according to a press statement by the U.S. embassy, will expand efforts to address immediate needs, scaling up assistance to the most affected communities and enabling USAID to reach more than 4 million people. With the additional funding, the U.S. government, through USAID, will provide life-saving food, nutrition, and health assistance to mitigate increased food insecurity and malnutrition resulting from the impact of the floods, as well as curb the rise of diseases resulting from stagnant flood waters. The new funding will also provide shelter supplies to help families rebuild as well as winterization kits to help families prepare as cold weather approaches.
Don’t dare to cross Red Zone ‘red line’, Sana threatens Imran ISLAMABAD staff report
As the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) kicked off its much-hyped long march to the federal capital, Interior Minister rana Sanaullah on Friday warned party chairman Imran Khan that red Zone was government’s “red line” which should not be crossed. “Those who “attack” the federal capital will be “met with such dire consequences that no one will ever think of committing such an act again”, rana Sanaullah threatened while talking to the media after inauguration of Passport office at lahore High court (lHc) rawalpindi Bar on Friday. The minister said that the government was prepared to deal with anyone attempting to break the law with an iron fist. Warning protesters of “strict action”, Sanaullah said “if they [protesters] abide by the law, we will facilitate them”. “We will fulfill our responsibility according to the situation. If they are coming to march on Islamabad, they should understand that no group will be allowed to march on the capital”. He urged the nation to reflect on “this kind of thinking”, adding that “a lot has been revealed about the case of
Arshad Sharif. Who helped him go abroad, who issued the false threat alert”. He also said that the full report on the matter will be presented to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. on the question of potentially imposing governor’s rule in Punjab, the interior minister said that the issue rested with the cabinet. However, he added that “if any such situation arises, I will move a summary”. It may also be noted that during a hearing at the Supreme court (Sc) over the PTI’s May 25 March, the cJP had said that the march was the party’s political strategy, and everyone had the right to protest, but not be violent or damage public property. He added that the government had the authority to take action against the violation of law. Acknowledging the Sc’s orders, Sanaullah said that the government would abide by the law, but added that democracy will be compromised if “mob culture” was allowed to continue to grow in the country. “Two days ago Imran Khan said that these people could not arrest rana Sanaullah and the Punjab government has failed.” He said that today the anti-corruption unit has withdrawn the warrant. “It
was a shameful example of political revenge. Imran Khan should dismiss the Punjab government,” he said. AZAM SWATI’S ALLEGATIONS BASELESS: Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, Sanaullah threatened that any untoward situation will be dealt with iron hands as no one was above the law. The minister rebutted PTI leader Azam Khan Swati’s allegations regarding his arrest and handing over to security personnel, saying that no medical report has been submitted by him to
support his allegations. He said Azam Khan Swati’s allegations are baseless and will be challenged legally. condemning the allegations of Swati, Sanaullah said that FIA’s case against the PTI leader was lawful, completing all legalities. He said that Swati remained under FIA’s custody throughout the investigation and it was not even demanded by any other institution. “We treated him according to the law during the custody and even medical facility was provided
to him properly,” he added. commenting on the press conference held by the DG ISPr and DG ISI yesterday (Thursday), Sanaullah said that “if an institution is accused of something then it has the right to present its position with the permission of the head”. He also said that “DG ISI’s conference helped the nation a great deal as a false narrative was rejected”. A day earlier, the interior minister had said the PTI could stage its long march at the federal capital’s sectors H-9 and G-9 as allocated by courts, but its participants were restricted from entering the red Zone, which would be protected by rangers and Pakistan Army personnel. NATION REjEcTS cALL fOR ‘BLOODy MARch’: MARRIyUM: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb said on Friday that the nation has rejected the call for “bloody march” by refusing to become a slave to the foreign-funded person who violated the constitution. In her tweet in reaction to PTI leader Fawad chaudhry’s tweet, she said that Pakistan’s youth could not become the protectors of “the system of Toshakhana thief, Farah Gogi and Bushra Bibi”. The minister maintained that the people have refused to become pawns in one person’s lust for power.