ISLAMABAD: PTI stalwart Asad Qaiser said on Saturday that the party would go ahead with its countrywide protest on Feb 8 (Sunday) — the second anniversary of the 2024 general polls — but would also observe a day of mourning in the wake of the suicide bombing in Islamabad a day earlier.

Talking to Dawn, Qaiser termed rumours regarding the party cancelling or postponing the protest incorrect.

“The fact is that we have decided that the day will be observed as a national day of mourning. At the same time, protests will also be held across the country against rigging during the general elections,” he said.

Replying to a question, he said that February 8 was not limited to PTI founder Imran Khan or the PTI.

“It is a day on which the whole nation was deprived of democracy and the right to choose its representatives. We will hold the protest and a complete shutter-down strike against the injustice with the masses,” he added.

Qaiser said that the PTI and Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP) opposition alliance would continue efforts to restore democracy in Pakistan and ensure the rule of law even after February 8.

He added that as many as 10 committees were established at international, national and provincial levels to spread awareness among the masses and make the protest successful.

“February 8 was a day of humiliation for the entire nation, as people were deprived of their basic right to elect representatives,” Qaiser emphasised.

Meanwhile, PTI Islamabad President Amir Mughal also said in a statement that the party would observe a day of mourning while staging protests.

“It is unfortunate that Islamabad police and other law enforcement agencies were spending day and night to crack down against the PTI workers and trying to arrest them to make the protest unsuccessful,” he said.

He said that this had resulted in “weak security arrangements” that resulted in the attack on the imambargah.

“If police had focused on the security of the federal capital, the suicide attacker may not have entered the city,” he said.