Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief and former premier Imran Khan announced his party was suspending its ‘jail bharo‘ movement as he welcomed the Supreme Court’s (SC) ruling in a suo motu notice over delay in the announcement of elections in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P).
Arrests were offered by several PTI leaders and workers since February 22, as part of the party’s ‘Jail Bharo‘ movement — a drive that had sought to mark a protest against the government’s policies and to put pressure on the government to announce elections.
Earlier this morning, the apex court announced its verdict after two-day-long proceedings in the case regarding the delay in the announcement of the date of the provincial elections in Punjab and K-P.
The SC has ordered that elections in both assemblies should be held in the next 90 days with the chief justice saying that “democracy cannot exist without assemblies”.
Speaking outside the court, PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry hailed the verdict as a “victory for the constitution of Pakistan” which was seconded by AML chief Sheikh Rashid as a “victory for Imran Khan”.
Welcoming the judgment, Imran said that “it was the responsibility of the SC to uphold the constitution and they have valiantly done that through their judgment today”.
“It is an assertion of rule and law in Pakistan,” said the PTI chief as he announced the party would now proceed with election campaigns and that the drive to court arrests stood suspended.
Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah had said on Sunday that slightly above 100 people courted arrest so far in response to the PTI chairman’s call for ‘Jail Bharo’ movement, who were being detained for 30 days.
Speaking at a press conference in Islamabad, the minister had said more than 80% of those arrested wanted their release but he insisted that those people would be lodged in jail away from major cities such as Rawalpindi and Lahore.
Meanwhile, petitions seeking the release of some of the participants of the drive are pending with the Lahore High Court.
