By Staff Reporter
LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the opposition party led by jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan, launched a 90-day “do-or-die” protest movement to challenge the government.
Announced Sunday in Lahore, the campaign aims to mobilise supporters nationwide and secure Khan’s release, escalating PTI’s ongoing conflict with the current administration and is set to peak on August 5, coinciding with the two-year anniversary of Khan’s arrest.
The decision was unveiled during a press conference in Lahore, where Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, surrounded by PTI leaders, laid out the party’s plans. “We have announced a 90-day protest movement, which began yesterday [Saturday]… And it will be a do-or-die [movement] for us, whether we remain there [in KP government] or not,” Gandapur told reporters
He arrived in Lahore from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Saturday to finalise the strategy after discussions with party leadership. The protest follows a string of political and legal setbacks for PTI.
Earlier this month, the party vowed to launch a nationwide movement after Pakistan’s Supreme Court denied it reserved parliamentary seats for minorities and women, a ruling PTI claims weakens its representation.
Tensions flared further when, days ago, the Punjab Assembly speaker suspended 26 PTI lawmakers for 15 sessions after they disrupted Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif’s speech on June 27.
Gandapur accused the government of stifling dissent, declaring, “We are fighting a war for the people of Pakistan. A fascist campaign is being launched against us again and our constitutional right to protest is being taken away.”
The government swiftly pushed back. Federal Information Minister Attaullah Tarar labeled the protest a “political gimmick”. “He [Gandapur] has made several such announcements and these are political gimmicks,” Tarar said. “PTI has lost street power and its credibility, and is heading toward irrelevance.”
The government has long accused PTI of orchestrating violent protests to derail economic progress, pointing to a November clash last year in which it says four troops were killed by Khan’s supporters, an allegation PTI firmly denies.
PTI counters that its demonstrations are peaceful and accuses the government of using excessive force to silence opposition. The party demands an independent probe into the February 2024 elections, which it alleges were rigged, and the release of Khan, jailed since August 5, 2022, on charges of illegally selling state gifts.
Khan denies the accusations, calling them politically motivated, a stance echoed by PTI in its repeated protests over the past two years. The movement emerges against a backdrop of stalled talks between PTI and the government.
Negotiations faltered earlier this year over demands for a judicial commission to investigate the May 9 riots and a November 2024 Islamabad protest.
Gandapur hinted at openness to dialogue but insisted it must involve the “real decision-makers,” a thinly veiled jab at the military. “Imran Khan has very clearly said this, ‘[I] will only negotiate with those who are decision-makers. What’s the point of talking to someone who doesn’t have any authority?’” he said. The military, however, denies any role in politics and rejects PTI’s claims of orchestrating Khan’s 2022 ouster through a no-confidence vote. Since that ouster, PTI has clashed relentlessly with both the Pakistan Democratic Movement coalition and the current Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz-led government.
Legal woes have compounded its struggles, with Khan and senior leaders like Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Yasmin Rashid, and Ejaz Chaudhry behind bars on various charges. Despite earlier calls for dialogue from some jailed leaders, Khan has now ruled it out. “There will be no further negotiations with anyone,” he reportedly said, doubling down on street protests as PTI’s path forward.
Gandapur vowed to rally supporters nationwide, saying, “We will announce a plan accordingly, after taking all our local workers and leaders into confidence on how to proceed with this movement.”
He also challenged Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, who recently suggested a shift in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s leadership, to an electoral face-off. “If Maulana [Fazlur Rehman] cannot win, then he should leave politics,” Gandapur fired back, daring Rehman to contest against his brother.
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