The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), led by Imran Khan, moved the country's top court on Wednesday to direct the Shehbaz Sharif government and other authorities not to create hindrances in the party's second march on Islamabad, days after the first one was suspended following several clashes in the federal capital.
Imran's party made the request in a plea filed in the Pakistan Supreme Court today, detailing an account of the circumstances of the PTI's last march on May 25, the Dawn newspaper reported.
Explaining his decision to end the 'Azadi March' last week, the former Pakistan prime minister on Monday said he feared "bloodshed" after clashes between his party workers and authorities started escalating in the capital city of Islamabad.
The Shehbaz Sharif-led government would have been the ultimate beneficiary of any ensuing chaos and violence.
"The hatred against police had already intensified and seeing me [at D-Chowk] would have further stoked the sentiments of my workers," he said. "I was a 100 per cent sure that bullets will be fired. People from our side were also ready as some of them were carrying pistols. It would have led to further hatred against the police and the army and caused divisions within the country ...," he was quoted as saying in an interview by Dawn.
Imran Khan had said his party would ask the Pakistan Supreme Court whether or not holding a "peaceful protest" was permissible in the country.
After getting out of power, Imran Khan has been consistently making allegations about a foreign conspiracy against him and calling for early elections.
Last week, multiple scuffles took place between the police and PTI marchers after Imran Khan and his convoy entered Islamabad and started marching towards the D-Chowk, which ended up in large scale violence.
PML (N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz on Saturday had requested the Pakistani judiciary to remain "impartial" and maintain a distance from Imran Khan's politics.
"Imran Khan, the revolution that you want to bring through the Supreme Court, the SC itself, along with the people of Pakistan, will foil it," Geo News quoted her as saying during a public gathering in Bahawalpur, Punjab.
Khan first drags institutions into politics and then utters abusive words for them, the PML-N vice president said. The PML-N leader said that Khan started begging Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif two days before the "Azadi March" to announce a date for the elections.
( With inputs from ANI )
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