• Leaders meet Imran for first time after ‘final call’ protest
• Barrister Gohar says issue of casualties to be placed before parliament
ISLAMABAD: The PTI has officially claimed the death of 12 of its supporters during the party’s recent protest in the federal capital, and “distanced” itself from the “exaggerated” toll of casualties being bandied about on social media.
Top PTI leaders met incarcerated party founder, Imran Khan, in Adiala Jail on Monday for the first time since the protest in Islamabad last week.
Addressing the media after the meeting, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar said the party has information about 12 people who were shot and killed during the protest. He said PTI is a democratic party and doesn’t give irresponsible statements.
“We have only given the figure for which we have the details,” he said while talking about the death toll.
“We have said on record that we disown claims about the exaggerated death toll as long as we don’t have the proof to corroborate those claims.”
There were unconfirmed reports about the number of PTI supporters killed during the protest in Islamabad. While the government claimed zero casualties, social media reports and statements by some PTI leaders had put the toll between 20 and 300.
Mr Gohar said the debate over the number of casualties was not important, as even one person shouldn’t have been killed.
The PTI chairman said that Mr Khan expressed sorrow over the deaths of party workers and directed the leadership to take up the issue in parliament.
According to Mr Gohar, the PTI founder was not aware of the developments during the protest as he didn’t have access to newspapers and television.
Mr Khan has asked the leadership to “maintain unity among the ranks” and not pay heed to the detractors.
He will soon announce a strategy for the future, Mr Gohar said.
When asked why PTI workers went to the D-Chowk in the Red Zone when Mr Khan agreed to divert the protest to Sangjani, he said the workers and leadership tried to reach a venue where the protest would have had the most impact.
He claimed there was no plan or directive to reach D-Chowk by all means.
According to Mr Gohar, the debate over the protest venue was futile and “has been triggered to divert the attention from deaths of PTI workers”.
Mr Gohar said that although PTI was facing restrictions and efforts were being made to ban the party, it would continue the political struggle.
About Mr Khan’s health, the PTI chairman dispelled rumours and claimed that the incarcerated leader is perfectly alright.
Published in Dawn, December 3rd, 2024
