Imran Khan announces PTI rally in Islamabad next week for PM's resignation

Published April 21, 2017
PTI Chairman Imran Khan addresses a press conference outside the National Assembly. ─ DawnNews
PTI Chairman Imran Khan addresses a press conference outside the National Assembly. ─ DawnNews

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan announced his party's intention to hold a rally in Islamabad next Friday to "demand Nawaz Sharif's resignation".

Speaking to reporters outside the National Assembly, Khan posed the question: "How will the PML-N confront the public after the comments made in the Supreme Court judgement?"

"I asked the PML-N supporters, what were you distributing sweets for yesterday? You should have read the full judgement," he said.

"It has never happened in Pakistan's history before that such comments were passed against a sitting prime minister."

"All five judges have raised questions asked by the PTI," he said, adding that the apex court had rejected all defences presented by the PM's counsel.

"Resign while you are being investigated," he urged the premier. "This is not an unusual demand."

Khan also questioned if it was possible for heads of institutions like the National Accountability Bureau to investigate the prime minister while he remained in power.

"If these institutions had been working, they would have stopped corruption already," he asserted.

Khan's announcement came a day after the Supreme Court's decision on the Panamagate case said it would constitute a Joint Investigation Team to probe the Sharif family's wealth.

What was initially hailed as a win by the PML-N later became an embarrassment for the party as its opposition touted the 2:3 split verdict — neither a clean chit, nor a disqualification — with a strongly-worded dissenting note by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa as an indication that the court had been unable to find Nawaz Sharif innocent.

Read more: Supreme Court gives reprieve to Sharif, but no clean chit

Opinion

Editorial

Delicate balance
Updated 13 Mar, 2026

Delicate balance

PAKISTAN has to maintain a delicate balance where the geopolitics of the US-Israeli aggression against Iran are...
Soaring costs
13 Mar, 2026

Soaring costs

FOR millions of households already grappling with Ramazan inflation, the sharp increase in petrol and diesel prices...
Perilous lines
13 Mar, 2026

Perilous lines

THE law minister’s veiled warning to the media to “exercise caution” and not cross “red lines” while...
Collective security
Updated 12 Mar, 2026

Collective security

Regional states need to sit down and talk. They must also pledge and work towards collective security.
Spectrum leap
12 Mar, 2026

Spectrum leap

THE sale of 480 MHz of fifth-generation telecom spectrum for $507m is a major milestone in Pakistan’s digital...
Toxic fallout
12 Mar, 2026

Toxic fallout

WARS can leave environmental scars that remain long after the fighting is over. The strikes on Iran’s oil...