Did Imran postpone plan to paralyse Pak to ensure JuD event success?

The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf has now gone over its threat to shut down the country by December 16 and has postponed the deadline because the Jamaat-ud-Dawa has planned an event in Lahore on December 4 and 5 which was coinciding with the party's Lahore strike, a report said.

The party leadership met at chief Imran Khan's Bani Gala residence on Monday and decided to shut down Lahore on December 15 instead of December 4, as planned earlier, because the strike was coinciding with event planned by the JuD in the city. The party will now shut down the whole country by December 18, reported the Dawn.

PTI leader Dr Arif Alvi said that although the Jamaat-ud-Dawa leadership had requested them to change the date but the party revised its plan for Lahore shutdown because it needed time to make "effective arrangements."

The announcement came less than 24 hours after the party unveiled its "Plan C" on Sunday.

Alvi said that the change in plan will give the government an opportunity to resume talks with the PTI.

He said that the protests had remained peaceful over the past 110 days and that they would remain so in future but added that Khan will not be able to keep them under control for long if the Nawaz Sharif government did not respond to his offer of talks.

PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that the party's workers, supporters would block main roads during the shutdown but will not force closure of schools and markets.