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  Imran Khan calls for November 2 strike

Imran Khan calls for November 2 strike

Published : Oct 18, 2016, 6:41 am IST
Updated : Oct 18, 2016, 6:41 am IST

PTI chief says shutdown aims to pressure govt to show accountability.

PTI chief says shutdown aims to pressure govt to show accountability.

Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan on Monday announced the ‘shutting’ of Islamabad on November 2 to pressure the government and the premier to show accountability. He revised the previously declared date of October 30.

Addressing a news conference, Mr Khan warned the government of a strong reaction if it attempted to stop the ‘massive’ protest using force.

The PTI leader took a jibe at different political parties, including Pakistan People’s Party, for not being ‘serious’ in countering the government’s corruption.

He claimed that Asif Ali Zadari, former president, was on the same platform with the corrupt government and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Mr Khan said that PTI had made attempts to bring together all the opposition parties for betterment of the country. He invited every Pakistani to participate in the sit-in on November 2 to move the country towards prosperity by getting rid of its corrupt leaders. There would not be any sit-in after the one on November 2, he said.

The protest in Islamabad was announced by the party chief on September 30 in a rally in Lahore’s Raiwind and he had ‘granted’ the premier time till the end of Muharram.

The PTI chief had then launched the Ehtesab (accountability) movement in the country against the ruling Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz). Initially, Imran Khan demanded a probe into the elections of 2013, which his party thinks were rigged.

Later names of several Pakistanis, including Nawaz Sharif’s children, Maryam, Hussain, and Hasan, surfaced in one of the world’s biggest-ever data leaks through an online searchable database, made public by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists in April 2016, following which the prime minister had formed an inquiry commission to probe his family’s alleged links to offshore accounts.

The federal government and the opposition could not agree on drafting joint terms of reference to probe the Panama leaks.

The Public Accounts Committee, Federal Board of Revenue, State Bank of Pakistan, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan and National Accountability Bureau have failed to conduct investigations into the case.

Location: Pakistan, Islamabad