After the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) postponed its power show in Islamabad following the incarcerated party founder’s directives, senior leader Azam Swati said that whoever facilitated his meeting with Imran Khan in Adiala Jail had made a “positive move”.
“It was a positive move to protect the system of Pakistan,” said Swati outside the Supreme Court while pointing towards his meeting with the former prime minister at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi earlier this week before the former ruling party rescheduled his Islamabad power show from August 22 to September 8.
He went on to say that his party was not expecting any kind of concession [from the government] after postponing its Islamabad rally. Swati added that the PTI only wanted the implementation of the law and the Constitution in the country.
The Imran-founded party made all-out efforts to stage a huge power show in the federal capital apparently to revive its diminishing political strength, however, it went in vain after the city administration denied permission citing security reasons.
The postponement decision was taken after Swati held a meeting with the PTI founder in the Rawalpindi Central Jail on the day of the Islamabad rally in which the latter gave permission to the party leadership to defer the jalsa.PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan also confirmed the development on Thursday.
However, in a recent audio statement, Aleema Khan, sister of the ousted premier who was removed from office in April 2022, resented the move, criticising the PTI leadership for not having any “real intention” of getting the party founder out of jail.
In a short audio clip, purportedly featuring the voice of Aleema, questions were raised about why Swati visited Imran early in the morning and at whose behest. “Who instructed him [Swati] to meet Imran at 7 am and deliver a message regarding the rally’s postponement?”
Welcoming PTI’s decision, the federal government’s spokesperson on legal affairs, Barrister Aqeel Malik, claimed that the Centre approached Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur for the cancellation of the public gathering.
He also confirmed that the party had been given conditional permission for a rally on September 8.
