Islamabad, Pakistan:
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) will hold its first nationwide 'power show' today on Sunday after May 9 at the invitation of jailed Prime Minister and party founder Imran Khan, Dawn reported.
“We have given clear instructions to ticket holders to come out at 2 pm and hold rallies and public gatherings in their constituencies. They will address the voters and give the message that PTI will not allow anyone to take its place,” the party's Central Information said. Minister Raoof Hasan said this.
The party will also launch its 158-page manifesto on Sunday, covering all major issues of Pakistan.
Earlier this week, founder and chairman Imran Khan instructed all ticket holders to take to the streets across the country on Sunday. He warned that those who will not hold rallies will have their tickets cancelled, as reported by Dawn.
Later, the sister of the former Prime Minister also addressed media persons and conveyed the message to party workers and ticket holders through the media.
The announcement caused panic among some ticket holders as they were already hiding in various places to avoid arrest. They fear that some of them will be arrested on Sunday.
Mr Hasan, however, said a message had been conveyed to all leaders to hold rallies across the country without fear of arrest.
“They may be arrested, but we don't think this will affect their election campaign. In fact, they may even get more votes [of sympathy] as voters will observe everything that happens with the PTI. We have also released a video message in this regard,” he said.
Replying to a question, Mr Hasan agreed that although Section 144 was not imposed as other parties held public meetings, PTI workers could be arrested.
On May 9 last year, PTI workers held protests across the country following the arrest of Imran Khan by the Islamabad High Court. However, the protest turned into riots, with some mobs attacking military installations.
On Saturday, PTI ticket holders held a virtual convention and invited the masses to cast their votes in their favor.
Throughout the convention, efforts were made to reach out to the masses on how they could know more about the symbol and the candidate supported by the PTI in their constituency after the party was stripped of the 'bat' symbol and all ticket holders participated in the elections as independent candidates.
The convention was moderated by PTI social media heads Jibran Ilyas and Ali Malik. Around 8.30 pm, around 2,400 people watched the convention on PTI's official YouTube channel. At 9 p.m., their numbers rose to 3,400, and to 4,000 at 10:30 p.m., Dawn reported.
Mr Khan's message was also delivered during the convention. He said the dream was to create a state like 'Riyasat-i-Madina' where there should be justice in the country. He said that if justice and merit were guaranteed, no one would have to leave the country to find work.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)