Imran Khan, former Prime Minister and chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), has launched the "Jail Bharo Movement".
He addressed the nation on Saturday and accused the Shehbaz Sharif government of targeting PTI members and supporters. Despite the threat of arrests, he declared, "We are not afraid of arrests". He criticised the current administration for the economic crisis and claimed that the rulers, who came to power through a conspiracy, have destroyed the country. "The imported government has no roadmap for the country's progress," Khan said.
He also mentioned that the Finance Minister, Ishaq Dar, initially threatened the International Monetary Fund but has now surrendered to the international lender.
Imran fumes over destruction of street vendor carts in capital
Imran Khan expressed his anger towards the government today over the destruction of street vendor carts in the I-10 sector of the capital city, which were given to vendors under the Ehsaas Rehriban initiative during his time as Prime Minister. He used Twitter to post pictures of the dismantled carts and scattered products, resulting from what appears to be a clearing operation against encroachments.
The former premier, calling it a "condemnable inhumane act", claimed that the government had deliberately targeted the poor and vulnerable segment of society.
"At a time of rising inflation and unemployment, this imported government showed its callousness again by demolishing street vendor carts in Islamabad's I-10 sector, provided by our government under the Ehsaas Rehriban program," Khan said.
What was Ehsaas Rehribaan initiative?
The PTI government, led by Imran Khan, introduced the Ehsaas Rehribaan initiative last year with the goal of integrating poor and small business owners into the economy by establishing a supportive environment for them. Additionally, the program aimed to support the fight against climate change by providing vendors with solar-powered carts.
The initiative disrupted the control that shopkeepers had over street vendors, who previously paid a monthly rent to the shopkeepers, and offered them protection from anti-encroachment activities. Prior to the initiative, the street vendors faced uncertainty as the Capital Development Authority (CDA) repeatedly conducted anti-encroachment operations to clear pedestrian walkways
(To receive our E-paper on WhatsApp daily, please click here.  To receive it on Telegram, please click here. We permit sharing of the paper's PDF on WhatsApp and other social media platforms.)
