Pakistan's ex-PM Imran asks party supporters to get ready for ‘Jail Bharo’ movement

Irked by detentions and recent cases filed against the leadership of Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI), the party's chairman and former PM Imran Khan on Saturday asked his workers and supporters to prepare for "Jail Bharo" movement across the country.

Imran’s comments come in the wake of sedition cases filed against his party's Senior Vice-President Fawad Chaudhry and former member of National Assembly Shandana Gulzar, while Senator Azam Swati and Shahbaz Gill were booked earlier for speaking against the military.

During his televised address, the deposed prime minister said his party could have opted for a nationwide strike, but will choose to fill the prisons instead in light of the fears that the country's economy might deteriorate further.

"We have two options: Considering what they have been doing, we could have gone for a wheel-jam strike and demonstrations — which is also a way and a democratic one." "But since the state of economy is so bad, it'll worsen. Therefore, I ask all my workers, the Pakistani nation and everyone to prepare for Jail Bharo movement," Imran said.

“Entire party and the people should prepare for the Jail Bharo Tehrik,” Imran said. “Whenever I give the signal, we all will get out and give our arrests to the authorities.”

The former premier, while addressing the youth and nation, said that his party won't stay quiet on the violence being inflicted on his party's members.

"Instead of causing destruction, we would now prepare Jail Bharo movement." "It was their plan to weaken Tehrik-e-Insaf by frightening and threatening," the PTI chief said.

Imran claimed his party never committed such atrocities in its tenure as the Pakistan Democratic Movement-led government in the centre has.

"Fawad Chaudhry was picked up from home at 3am. What did Shandana Gulzar do that made her a terrorist. As the court gives bail to Sheikh Rashid, more cases are being filed against him," the PTI chairman said, insisting how action has been taken against every person who called out the regime change.

The PTI chairman said that Finance Minister Ishaq Dar first threatened the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and now he has bowed down before the international lender.

Earlier, Imran slammed the "imported government” for demolishing street vendor carts, established under Ehsaas Rehriban initiative, in Islamabad’s I-10 sector.

The PTI chief took to Twitter to share a slew of photos showing dismantled carts and products of vendors are scattered on the roadside after what appears an anti-encroachment operation.

Agencies