Islamabad – In a significant protest against the ongoing arrests of social media activists and raids on the homes of National Assembly members, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is set to begin a hunger strike outside the Parliament House. The strike is scheduled to commence at 3:00 PM today.
The hunger strike camp will be led by Umar Ayub, the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly. Joining him will be prominent PTI leaders including Shibli Faraz, the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, PTI Chairman Barrister Saif, and former National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser.
Other PTI National Assembly and Senate members are also expected to participate in the protest.
Reason for the Protest
PTI has initiated this hunger strike as part of its second phase of protest strategy against the government’s actions. The party has voiced concerns over the arrests of their social media activists and the raids conducted on the homes of their National Assembly members.
They argue that these actions are attempts to intimidate party members into changing their political allegiance under the threat of legal consequences.
The hunger strike will be held daily from 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM. PTI has also demanded the release of their detained activists and leaders, emphasizing that the founder of PTI had previously hinted at a nationwide hunger strike if their demands were not met.
The party has stated that if the government does not address their concerns, they will expand the protest to provincial capitals and, if necessary, initiate a public-level hunger strike, which could include the PTI founder Imran Khan himself.