PTI long march to achieve target regardless of developments, says former PM Imran

Tariq Butt, Correspondent

The Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) has changed the schedule of its "long march" for a third time, announcing that the protest march would resume on Thursday from Wazirabad – exactly from the point former prime minister Imran Khan was injured in a gun attack last week.

The PTI chief on Sunday announced that his party will be returning to the streets to resume its protest march on Islamabad, which was disrupted after an attempt on his life, from Tuesday.

In a change of plan, Imran said the march would resume on Thursday instead of Tuesday, though he did not give a reason for the delay.

Earlier during the day, Imran said that the party's long march would achieve its target "no matter what the circumstances," as the former prime minister puts pressure on the government in his quest for snap polls, according to media report.

Imran is currently recovering in Lahore from the bullet injuries he sustained in an assassination attempt on him in Wazirabad last week. He was discharged from the Shaukat Khanum Hospital in Lahore on Sunday night, Geo News reported.

The ex-PM during an interaction with representatives from different media bodies said that the party would back down only after getting the date for general elections.

Imran said that no compromise can be made with the leaders of the ruling coalition, including Pakistan Peoples Party co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz supremo Nawaz Sharif, Geo News reported.

Top court warns of action if FIR on Imran’s attack case not registered

The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Monday directed Punjab Inspector General of Police (IGP) Faisal Shahkar to register a First Information Report (FIR) of the gun attack on Imran Khan within 24 hours.

A five-member bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial and comprising Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Muneeb Akhtar, Justice Yahya Afridi and Justice Mazahar Akbar Naqvi, heard the plea.

Justice Bandial warned of taking suo motu notice if the FIR of the attack was not registered. He also asked the IGP, who joined the hearing from the Lahore registry of the Supreme Court via video link, why the FIR was not registered.

"Tell us when the FIR will be registered,” he said, adding that there should be a concrete reason for not registering the FIR.

The chief justice observed that it had been 90 hours since the attack but the FIR had not yet been registered. "How will an investigation be initiated without it? And without an FIR, even evidence can be altered,” he added.

Warning of taking a suo motu notice if the FIR was not registered, Justice Bandial told the IGP: you will be answerable in the sou motu notice. There was an attempt to kill a national leader, realizing the sensitivity of the matter. Investigate, collect evidence and get a forensic [analysis] conducted."