KHAN GIVES SIX-DAY DEADLINE TO GOV’T TO ANNOUNCE POLLS AS LONG MARCH REACHES ISLAMABAD

Thu 26 May 2022:

Former Pakistan Prime Minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan, along with other party workers, late on Wednesday reached Islamabad after PTI workers and supporters made their way towards the federal capital, pushing aside containers and braving tear gas shelling, local media reported.

A large number of party workers and supporters were present at Islamabad toll plaza to welcome their leader, Express Tribune.

Former Prime Minister Imran Khan has warned Pakistan’s government to set new elections in the next six days or he will again march on the capital along with millions of people.

Khan spoke to tens of thousands of people in Islamabad early Thursday morning, with the goal of toppling the government and forcing early elections.

“I had decided that I will sit here until the government dissolves assemblies and announces elections, but of what I have seen in the past 24 hours, they (government) are taking the nation towards anarchy,” the 69-year-old was quoted as saying by Dawn news website.

The government earlier had summoned troops to guard important buildings, including the parliament and offices of the president and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The measures came following clashes between Khan’s supporters and police.

Khan in his address claimed that five of his supporters were killed in the violence across the country. There was no immediate comment from the government about Khan’s claim.

Earlier, Khan had vowed that he will stage a prolonged sit-in to get his demands accepted.

Khan, a former cricket star-turned-politician, was prime minister for more than three and a half years until being removed last month by a no-confidence vote in parliament.

Since then, he has held rallies across the country, saying his removal from office was the result of a United States-backed plot and collusion with Sharif. Both have denied the allegation.

Khan began his march towards Islamabad from the northwestern city of Peshawar.

Clashes initially erupted in the eastern city of Lahore, when riot police fired tear gas and pushed back hundreds of demonstrators who hurled stones as they tried to pass a roadblocked bridge near the city to board buses bound for Islamabad.

Dozens of Khan’s followers also briefly clashed with police in Islamabad, where the demonstrators set fire to bushes lining a main boulevard, sending smoke and flames rising into the sky.

Altercations were also reported elsewhere, including in Karachi, where demonstrators burned a police vehicle.

At least a dozen demonstrators and several policemen were injured.

Ahead of Wednesday’s marches, authorities used dozens of shipping containers and trucks to block major roads into Islamabad.