Won’t allow repeat of 2014, Pak PM warns Imran Khan’s party ahead of SCO Summit

Islamabad: Ahead of the SCO meeting, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday said former premier Imran Khan’s party will not be allowed to repeat the 2014 sit-in that had prompted cancellation of the Chinese president’s visit then.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Head of States’ Summit is to take place on October 15 and 16 here.

Khan, who has been incarcerated at Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail for more than a year, had called his party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), to hold a rally at D-Chowk here demanding his release and independence of the judiciary.

The national capital’s D-Chowk is the same venue where the PTI had organised a sit-in for 126 days in 2014, prompting Chinese President Xi Jinping to postpone his visit.

From Friday through Saturday, PTI supporters and workers clashed with security personnel at Islamabad and Lahore; scores of the party workers were arrested and cases lodged against Khan and his supporters.

Pakistan is hosting the SCO meeting and comprehensive arrangements have been made for it, Sharif said and also added that the Chinese Premier would also be paying a bilateral visit to Pakistan.

Sharif announced at the cabinet meeting that it was not acceptable that a particular party was creating hurdles in the development of Pakistan when the country was moving forward on the path of development and improving the living standards of the people.

Slamming the opposition party, Sharif said that the PTI had done nothing except to create chaos and divide the nation.