Gohar to move Peshawar High Court against K-P emergency, governor’s rule
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan on Monday said he would personally challenge the emergency and governor’s rule in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) in the Peshawar High Court tomorrow, as the party vowed to continue its long march.
Speaking at a press conference outside Parliament alongside Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Mahmood Khan Achakzai and Opposition Leader in the Senate Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, Gohar said the party would decide at its parliamentary party meeting on Tuesday how to oppose the measures in the provincial assembly.
“We will raise our voices on every forum. Our long march is ongoing, and our protests are continuing. We will not accept this,” he said, adding that the demonstrations would continue.
Gohar called October 11 a “black day” in Pakistan’s democratic history, saying the people of K-P had rejected emergency measures and governor’s rule, and that the provincial chief minister had been kept in custody and claimed that supporters of the party were in jail.
“We demand that the measures taken on October 11 be withdrawn,” he said, adding that the party would challenge the decision through all channels. He said he would personally challenge the decisions taken on October 11 in the Peshawar High Court, adding that the party was also pursuing a legal challenge.
The PTI chairman accused the government of showing stubbornness and said the provincial government machinery had been changed abruptly. He said the party had remained in contact with the government until the very last moment, but the situation had deteriorated.
“The federation will be strong only when the provinces are strong,” he said.
Gohar urged the government not to divide the public in the fight against terrorism, calling terrorism a “menace for Pakistan”. He said Pakistan’s future lay in democracy and that the federation would only be strong when its provinces were strong.
Speaking alongside Gohar, Achakzai said that opposition parties would stage protests across Pakistan against the imposition of governor’s rule and emergency measures in K-P, vowing to continue a peaceful democratic struggle alongside efforts to negotiate with the government.
He said his party would direct opposition groups to protest according to their capacity and announce a democratic movement in every district where emergency measures had not been imposed.
“We will hold peaceful protests,” he said, adding that the opposition was ready for all forms of negotiations to achieve a democratic Pakistan.
Achakzai criticised the decision to impose governor’s rule and emergency measures in K-P, calling it a major attack. He said he had been raising concerns about the Constitution when the measures were imposed and argued that the situation in Balochistan was worse than the circumstances cited to justify governor’s rule in K-P.
“Balochistan’s chief minister is your blue-eyed boy, but you take no action against what is being looted there,” he said, adding that half of Balochistan had become a no-go area for security forces.
The opposition leader also criticised the government over the February 8 elections, alleging that people’s consciences had been bought and sold through money and coercion. He claimed that voters had elected the PTI founder Imran Khan but that the party had been denied its mandate.
