{"id":14374,"date":"2025-07-21T18:04:18","date_gmt":"2025-07-21T18:04:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=14374"},"modified":"2025-07-21T18:04:18","modified_gmt":"2025-07-21T18:04:18","slug":"salman-akram-raja-announces-nationwide-pti-protest-for-august-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=14374","title":{"rendered":"Salman Akram Raja announces nationwide PTI protest for August 5"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Secretary General Salman Akram Raja has called for a nationwide protest on August 5, urging the public to rally behind what he described as a \u201chistoric movement.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Framing the party\u2019s struggle as a fight for national sovereignty rather than mere political survival, Raja appealed for mass participation to defend democratic rights.<\/p>\n<p>Addressing a press conference in Lahore on Monday alongside senior PTI leaders, he condemned what he called unconstitutional actions targeting PTI lawmakers, describing a broader crackdown on dissent.<\/p>\n<p>He criticised the Punjab Assembly\u2019s decision to send references against 26 PTI members to the Election Commission of Pakistan, calling the move unlawful and politically motivated. \u201cOur members will continue to raise their voices against this unconstitutional step,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Raja accused the government of systematically sidelining over 100 elected PTI members through the manipulation of Form-47 during the electoral process. \u201cThis is not just political engineering\u2014it is an assault on the people\u2019s mandate,\u201d he asserted.<\/p>\n<p>He further alleged that the May 9 protests were deliberately misrepresented, claiming that what began as a peaceful demonstration was later portrayed as a violent conspiracy. He called for the formation of a judicial commission to investigate the events and demanded the release of CCTV footage to substantiate the allegations made against PTI supporters.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn jail, Imran Khan continues to praise our assembly members for standing firm,\u201d Raja noted, adding that the PTI founder has been denied both legal and family access and is being subjected to harsh conditions, including long hours without ventilation.<\/p>\n<p>He warned that Pakistan\u2019s political and judicial systems were at a critical juncture, describing July 21 as potentially \u201ca dark day in political and judicial history.\u201d Raja criticised the state\u2019s use of anti-sedition laws and the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) to suppress dissent in both politics and journalism.<\/p>\n<p>He also rejected speculation about internal deals within the party, maintaining that PTI members remain united and committed to their political stance. \u201cWe are not stepping back. If someone dropped their reference, it does not mean there was a deal,\u201d he clarified.<\/p>\n<p>Reaffirming the party\u2019s constitutional position, Raja said, \u201cDisqualification is only possible under Articles 62 and 63. No one can be disqualified beyond that.\u201d He added that truth-telling had effectively been criminalised and expressed concern over the erosion of freedom of expression.<\/p>\n<p>The press conference took a contentious turn when a journalist asked whether Raja\u2019s rhetoric was aimed at keeping PTI\u2019s founder behind bars, and inquired about the nature of the planned protest. Raja responded calmly, stating that he had recently met with PTI leader Aliya Hamza to discuss organisational matters.<\/p>\n<p>However, PTI MPA Farrukh Javed Moon interrupted, labelling the journalist\u2019s question \u201cstupid\u201d and telling him to \u201clower your voice,\u201d accusing him of being disrespectful. The confrontation prompted Moon to walk out of the press conference, while other journalists protested his behaviour. Raja attempted to de-escalate the situation and urged restraint.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the disruption, he reiterated PTI\u2019s willingness to engage in dialogue and accountability. \u201cWe want the truth to prevail\u2014if someone deserves punishment, let justice take its course. But let us not punish political dissent,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Raja concluded by affirming that PTI remains strong both inside and outside Parliament and dismissed ongoing efforts to sideline the party as futile. \u201cThe people are still with Imran Khan,\u201d he said. \u201cWhether it\u2019s the 27th or 28th constitutional amendment\u2014it won\u2019t change the truth.\u201d<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Secretary General Salman Akram Raja has called for a nationwide protest on August 5, urging the public to rally behind what he described as a \u201chistoric movement.\u201d Framing the party\u2019s struggle as a fight for national sovereignty rather than mere political survival, Raja appealed for mass participation to defend democratic rights. Addressing [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14374","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14374","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14374"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14374\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14374"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14374"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14374"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}