LAHORE: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf has geared up for staging a massive show on the call of party chief Imran Khan in Lahore on Sept 28.

It claims the protest gathering will serve as a referendum against the Nawaz Sharif-led government.

The PTI leaders say Imran Khan’s message of bringing about a country-wide change by eliminating corruption as well as putting free and fair electoral system in place has reached every home in the country and people will come out to support this cause on next Sunday.

PTI Lahore President Abdul Aleem Khan says the party has applied to the district administration, police and other institutions concerned for holding the gathering at Minar-i-Pakistan on Sunday.

The PTI Lahore on Tuesday held its organising committee meeting and constituted various committees to put up the best show in the city.

Speaking to the meeting participants, PTI Punjab President Ejaz Chaudhry said the party had been organising a historic peaceful sit-in for the past 41 days. He said Imran Khan was working to save, strengthen and prosper Pakistan. He said the PTI was struggling for the creation of a ‘Naya Pakistan’ that was actually envisioned by Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Allama Iqbal.

Mr Chaudhry said the incumbent government formed on the basis of ‘fake’ mandate should realise its status in the wake of Election Commission’s internal report that showed massive irregularities in the elections. He said the Punjab government’s ‘conspiracy’ to burn general election record in a Lahore school was exposed. He said such tactics could not change public opinion and added that the slogan “Go Nawaz Go” had become the voice of every Pakistani at home and abroad.

During the meeting, the PTI Youth Wing and ISF offered their services for the security and discipline in the upcoming gathering. The party’s women wing offered its services for proper preparation of protest gathering, while party’s ticket-holders from Lahore committed that they would bring protest rallies to party’s main protest venue.

The party also planned for the setting up of welcome camps across the city and other arrangements. Abdul Aleem Khan also constituted different committees to finalise arrangements.

The meeting was attended by Mian Mahmoodur Rasheed, Mian Aslam Iqbal, Shanila Rout, Saadia Suhail, Shabbir Sial, Farrukh Javed Moon and others.

Meanwhile, the PTI Punjab organised a meeting of regional presidents and general secretaries as well as district presidents and assigned them the task to start preparations and bring people to Minar-i-Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, September 24th, 2014