News
Wednesday, July 06, 2011
Imran condemns killing of protesters in Mianwali
Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan condemned the killing of three protesters in Mianwali. He said the use of excessive force against protesters couldn’t be justified. He said load shedding has destroyed small to medium sized industry, affected agricultural growth, and is the single biggest cause of rampant unemployment.
Addressing a press conference at the party’s central secretariat, the PTI chief demanded compensation for affected families. He also stressed the need to take action against police officials that ordered the shooting of protesters. He also demanded release of all arrested protesters, free medical treatment for the injured, and an end unannounced load shedding in the district. “Agriculture in Mianwali is suffering, as the farmers cannot operate tube-wells due to excessive load shedding”, he said, adding that despite the presence of a number of power generation units in Mianwali district, the people have been made to suffer extra hardship on account of excessive load shedding.
Answering a question about PML-N initiative to form a grand alliance of opposition, he said, PTI has so far received no formal invitation to participate in any national conference. Khan stated that the PML-N would have to clarify serious doubts about its grand alliance initiative in view of its past track record. “PTI has been consistently stating that the present NRO manufactured government is destroying vital state institutions and causing irreparable damage to economy and the only democratic option left is mid-term elections. But every time PML-N would throw its weight behind the government under the guise of saving the system. The nation wants to know what has changed over the last three months and the real motives of the PML-N’s somersault by seeking a grand alliance against the government,” he added.
Imran Khan reiterated the demand that the nation has not expected free and fair elections under a caretaker government set up by a president who is also the co-chairperson of PPP. He said the PTI would intensify the campaign to remove the government and expected the Supreme Court to take decisive action to remove the present “destructive government” and install a truly neutral caretaker setup.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk