Junaid Akbar was unsolicited as chairman of the public accounts in January 2025. Photo: Express/ File
PESHAWAR:
The PTI has announced that it will observe November 26 as a “black day” to mark a year since the party’s Islamabad protest turned violent.
The former ruling party has chosen not to hold a major nationwide demonstration, instead asking workers to stage regional-level protests for the release of its jailed founder, Imran Khan.
In a message posted on social media, PTI Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa President Junaid Akbar said the party’s regional organizations had been instructed to organize demonstrations at the district level.
He said members of the national and provincial assemblies should visit the homes of workers who died during last year’s unrest and express solidarity with their families.
Akbar added that PTI will hold a Quran recitation in Hayatabad, Peshawar, followed by a protest rally.
He said the party leadership had decided that instead of holding a major nationwide protest, workers should mobilize at the district level as part of their strategy to mark the day.
The November 26 protest staged by the PTI, which triggered a widespread round of arrests, was aimed at pressuring the government to release Imran Khan. The Islamabad administration detained several PTI workers citing security threats and public order violations.
The demonstration, which drew thousands to the capital under the leadership of Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi and former KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, quickly escalated into clashes with security forces.
According to the FIR filed after the event, protesters armed with firearms, stones and batons attacked the police and Rangers personnel.
