‘Enough is enough, give us a break’: PTI chairman condemns police action on founder’s sisters

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan on Wednesday condemned the police action to disperse the sit-in staged by PTI founder Imran Khan’s sisters and party workers outside Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi.

Speaking to reporters outside Parliament House alongside other PTI leaders, Barrister Gohar criticised the government for what he called “high-handed tactics” and warned authorities against attempts to ban the party.

“Water cannons were used on people who only wanted to meet their leader,” he said. “Why were water cannons used on his sisters and workers last night outside Adiala Jail?”

Barrister Gohar said stopping meetings with the PTI founder would achieve nothing. “Do not provoke the people of Pakistan,” he warned. “Allow his sisters and lawyers to meet him.”

Minus one means minus all

He accused the government of attempting to push PTI against the wall, citing a resolution passed in the Punjab Assembly a day earlier.

“PTI is a major political party. Stop trying to sideline it,” he said. “I warn the government that matters are slipping out of their hands.”

 

He added that attempts to “minus” PTI would destabilise the entire political landscape, saying that “minus one means minus all.”

“This is not a business where you remove one partner and the other survives. If we are pushed out, they won’t survive either,” he remarked.

Barrister Gohar also questioned why meetings with Bushra Bibi, the wife of the PTI founder, had been suspended.

“The narrative is that Imran Khan’s meetings were stopped because tweets were being posted. But Bushra Bibi does not tweet — so why is her meeting banned?” he asked.

Referring to the emotional toll on the families of incarcerated leaders, he said: “Enough is enough. How long will children attend functions with you while their parents remain in jail? Give us a break.”

He warned that suppressing PTI’s voice inside Parliament would only benefit “a third force,” which, he said, posed a threat to democracy and the country.

“You cannot separate the people from Imran Khan. Do not anger the public. If our voice is stifled, the damage will be enormous,” he concluded.

A day earlier, the Punjab Assembly passed a resolution calling for a ban on Imran Khan and PTI, terming them “anti-state”.