PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervez Khattak has said that the monarchy of Mian Nawaz Sharif will ultimately end following use of force against unarmed protesters in Islamabad.

In his telephonic address to a rally, staged by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) here on Sunday, he said that peaceful struggle would continue till establishment of true democracy in the country.

“Nawaz Sharif is under the misconception that PTI workers will end their protest without his resignation from the post of prime minister,” Mr Khattak said.

Vows to continue peaceful struggle for true democracy

Led by MNA Hamidul Haq, Irfan Saleem, Amir Sohail, Fahad Shafi, Ihsan Wardak and Sohail Khan, the participants of the rally held a walk to the Governor’s House to protest police action in Islamabad.

The enraged workers of PTI, Pakistan Awami Tehreek and Wahdatul Muslimeen also burned tyres to block the road for some time.

Mr Khattak also appealed to the people of Punjab and other provinces to stand up against what he called the tyrannical policies of the government. He said that he had never heard of to firing, shelling and baton charge by police on peaceful protesters in a democratic government.

The chief minister said that PTI would not budge an inch from its demand of prime minister’s resignation. Police used expired teargas and chemicals against the protesters that rendered the victims handicapped, he alleged. “How such rulers can be expected to serve the people,” he questioned.

Mr Khattak said PTI workers had resolved to stay in the federal capital till the fulfillment of their demands. He said that rulers were making failed efforts to salvage their kingdom and do massive corruption but PTI workers wouldn’t allow unlawful and undemocratic setup in the country.

Mr Khattak, also a central leader of PTI, said that killing of peaceful people including women, children and elderly people would backfire. He claimed that they were very close to getting their basic objective of doing away with the government of Nawaz Sharif.

The corrupt rulers even didn’t spare the journalists, who were on duty for coverage of the police’s atrocities against the peaceful protesters, the chief minister said. He added that police dragged out reporters of electronic media and beat them with sticks and smashed their cameras and devices.

Mr Khattak said that Punjab police had also killed 17 workers of Pakistan Awami Tehreek in Lahore. The government was employing the same tactics in Islamabad to scare people, he said.

However, the police action emboldened the people, who were on roads to show their resentment against the government that was formed after rigged elections, the chief minister said.

The PTI activists also held a sit-in in Hayatabad and later blocked University Road to protest Islamabad’s incident.

Mr Khattak also asked police to disobey illegal directives of the present government. Everyone responsible for the shelling and firing would not be spared, he said.

The chief minister said that it was shameful that police continued arresting injured workers from the hospitals and were not allowing them to get proper treatment. The PTI workers, who had rushed to hospitals to donate blood to seriously injured persons, were taken into custody by police, he said.

Published in Dawn, September 1st, 2014