PTI’s ‘Jail Bharo Tehreek’ against ‘attack on rights’, ‘economic meltdown’ begins today

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan announced that the  “Jail Bharo Tehreek (court arrest movement)” is set to kick off today, with hopes to counter the “attack on constitutionally-guaranteed fundamental rights” and the “economic meltdown” by the incumbent government.

Taking to Twitter, the former prime minister said that the PTI is set to start the Jail Bharo campaign for two main reasons.

“One, it is a peaceful, non-violent protest against the attack on our constitutionally-guaranteed fundamental rights. We are facing sham FIRs and NAB cases, custodial torture, attacks on journalists and social media people,” wrote the PTI chief.

Khan went on to say that the second is against the economic meltdown brought on by a “cabal of crooks who have money laundered billions in looted wealth and gotten NROs for themselves while crushing the people, especially, the poor and the middle class, under the burden of spiralling inflation and rising unemployment.”

In the wake of sedition cases filed against his party leaders including Fawad Chaudhry, Azam Swati and Shahbaz Gill, PTI Chairman Imran Khan on February 4 announced “Jail Bharo Tehreek”.

In the first phase of the movement, the party’s senior leaders — Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Asad Umar — voluntarily decided to surrender themselves to the authorities on Tuesday.

PTI senator Ejaz Chaudhry had said: “Jail Bharo Tehreek is the next political plan of the PTI and about 200 leaders will surrender themselves.”

Ejaz said that this movement is also a protest against inflation and the arrests will be made in other cities after Lahore.

“The party will decide who to arrest and when and this also includes Imran Khan,” he said.