‘Neutrals ka pressure tha’: Imran Khan blames the establishment for crackdown on PTI

Pakistan Tehreek-e- Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan blamed the ‘neutrals’ for the crackdown against his party.

Addressing a political gathering at Rawalpindi’s Liaquat Bagh on Sunday (August 21), Khan said that according to the reports he had received, the neutrals were responsible for the crackdown against his party.

“On May 25, when the police used violence against us, I was told by insiders that the police were ordered from above, which means that neutrals pressurised them to give PTI workers a thrashing,” said Khan. 

“The chief election commissioner is giving every decision against us … [He] is fully trying to disqualify me. I got information from the inside that he [the CEC] was not doing anything on his own but there was pressure of the boot.”

Imran Khan’s address to the Neutrals in Pindi Liaquatbagh pic.twitter.com/RNu9b8IIOh

— Murtaza Ali Shah (@MurtazaViews) August 21, 2022

Khan further accused the authorities of harassing visitors to Bani Gala, his residence in Islamabad, and said the people who came to meet him “received calls from the intelligence agencies” and are asked why did they go there.

“People who come to visit my home, police outside my house takes off their shoes. Police is not doing all this. They tell us that we have orders from neutrals.”

“So I ask you, whether you are neutral or not? If you stand with these people [PDM government], will the nation stop thinking of them as thieves? And now that you are standing with them, will they start considering them pious?”

Agencies/Neutrals harassing visitors to Bani Gala, it’s not the police but Neutrals: Imran Khan pic.twitter.com/Pzgg7qloc9

— Murtaza Ali Shah (@MurtazaViews) August 21, 2022

YouTube blackout

After Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) imposed a ban on the live telecast of speeches of PTI Chairman Imran Khan after he threatened the police, bureaucracy, and Additional District and Sessions Judge (ADSJ) Zeba Chaudhry, YouTube services in parts of the country reportedly faced disruptions during Imran Khan’s speech at Rawalpindi’s Liaquat Bagh.

NetBlocks, which tracks network disruptions and shutdowns, confirmed reports of YouTube being “briefly” blocked on multiple internet providers during Khan’s speech on Sunday.

“Real-time network data show the disruption in effect on some but not all mobile and fixed-line internet providers in Pakistan during the live-streamed speech. Access was restored after the speech concluded. The study is taken from a sample size of 100 measurements from 14 vantage points across Pakistan,” a statement issued by the watchdog read.

⚠️ Confirmed: Metrics corroborate reports of a disruption to YouTube in Pakistan on multiple internet providers; the incident comes as former PM Imran Khan live streams on the platform despite a ban by media regulator PEMRA

📰 Report: https://t.co/mFBehYjlnY pic.twitter.com/CtD8vYX8f6

— NetBlocks (@netblocks) August 21, 2022