Islamabad: Ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party will not be allowed to repeat the 2014 sit-in, which forced the Chinese President to cancel his visit. The SCO Heads of State Summit is scheduled to be held in Islamabad on October 15 and 16. From India, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will lead the delegation going to Pakistan to attend the SCO summit in Islamabad.
Pakistan is hosting the SCO meeting
PM Sharif said that Pakistan is hosting the SCO meeting and extensive arrangements have been made for it. He also said that the Chinese Prime Minister will also make a bilateral visit to Pakistan. Making the announcement during the Cabinet meeting, Sharif said that it is not acceptable that a particular party is hindering the development of Pakistan at a time when the country is moving on the path of development and the living standards of the people are improving.
Imran Khan is in jail
Khan, who has been lodged in Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail for more than a year, had called on his party to hold a rally at D-Chowk here, demanding his release and independence of the judiciary. D-Chowk in the national capital is the same place where the PTI had staged a sit-in for 126 days in 2014, forcing Chinese President Xi Jinping to postpone his visit to Pakistan.
PTI supporters created a ruckus
In recent days, PTI supporters and activists have clashed with security personnel in Islamabad and Lahore. Several party workers have been arrested and cases have also been registered against Khan and his supporters.