Imran Khan suspends 'Jail bharo' movement

LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan on Wednesday announced suspension of 'Jail Bharo' movement after Supreme Court's decision regarding elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) provinces, local media reported.

The movement, which kicked off from Lahore on February 22, was scheduled to culminate on March 1 with party activists and leaders courting arrests in their respective cities on the given days, Samaa TV reported.

The PTI activists and leaders including Asad Umar, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Zulfi Bukhari, Fayaz ul Hasan Chohan and others had surrendered before the police during the movement which had so far covered cities including Lahore, Peshawar, Multan and Gujranwala.

Khan took to his Twitter account to make this announcement.

The former premier welcomed the top court's verdict on the elections in Punjab and K-P provinces and commended it for upholding the Constitution, Samaa TV reported.

Khan said they were ending the movement and now kicking-off election campaigns in both provinces.

"We welcome the SC judgement. It was the responsibility of SC to uphold the Constitution and they have valiantly done that through their judgement today," Khan said after the top court's ruling to hold elections in the provinces within 90 days, Geo News reported.

In a split verdict earlier in the day, the Supreme Court asked President Arif Alvi to consult with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and fix a date for elections in Punjab while the governor of KP was ordered to announce a date for the election in the province.

Source: IANS