Pakistan’s ex-PM Imran Khan plans protest after election win
Pakistan’s former prime minster Imran Khan said he will decide on a protest march to Islamabad this month if the government does not announce a date for early elections within the next few days, building on momentum after winning majority seats in a by-election.
The preparations for the peaceful protest are almost complete, the ex-cricket-star-turned-politician said at a news conference. He did not disclose the date of converging on the capital, Islamabad.
Khan’s warning to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government came a day after his party won six of the eight seats being contested in a by-election.
Some analysts say his victory showed popular support for him in the nation of more than 220 million. Khan, who was ousted from power through a no-confidence vote in April, has been holding rallies drawing large crowds across Pakistan to push for early elections.
He said the voting result over the weekend was a referendum that rejected the government of Sharif, who has already reiterated that an early election is out of the question.
The government will not allow anybody to create political instability, said Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb.
If Khan urges his supporters to march to the capital city to try and topple the government, he will be stopped “with full force,” Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said.
Rallying his supporters to take to the streets is not new for Khan. In 2014, they held a sit-in in Islamabad that lasted more than four months, demanding fresh elections after accusing then-premier Nawaz Sharif of rigging elections.
Khan had called a similar protest in May but called it off soon after reaching Islamabad.