| People make large presence in country-wide demonstrations aimed for defending democracy, sovereignty, and integrity of Country | Overseas Pakistanis in UK, Europe, Middle East and around the World hold huge rallies in support of Imran Khan | Ousted PM had called for peaceful mass protests on Sunday night
By Asghar Ali Mubarak
in Islamabad, Sardar Shahab in London, Abid Usman in Lahore, & Zeeshan Mirza in Karachi
The people of Pakistan on Sunday took out rallies in several cities of the country to protest against the ouster of former prime minister and party chairman Imran Khan through a successful vote of no-confidence the previous night.
Former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan earlier in the day had vowed to begin “freedom struggle against a “foreign conspiracy” of regime change in Pakistan.
“Pakistan became an independent state in 1947; but the freedom struggle begins again today against a foreign conspiracy of regime change,” he wrote on his official Twitter handle on Sunday. “It is always the people of the country who defend their sovereignty and democracy,” he added.
The former ruling party, following its central executive committee meeting held at Imran’s Bani Gala residence today, had announced that peaceful protest across all cities including Lahore Sialkot, Sahiwal, Karachi and Rawalpindi will be held tonight.
“Peaceful protest will be carried out throughout the country today. The country stands with Imran Khan,” former energy minister Hammad Azhar said during a media talk.
Imran Khan had also talked about his future plans during his last address as a prime minister to the nation on Friday.
Urging the masses to come out against the “imported government” on Sunday night, Imran pledged in his televised address that he would not sit idly by and continue struggle against the foreign intervention into Pakistan’s internal matters.
He repeatedly asked the nation to decide if they wanted to live on the terms dictated by others. If the answer was affirmative, he asked, what was the purpose of celebrating Pakistan Day on March 23 and Independence Day on August 14 every year.
In his address, Imran stressed that the nation would have to decide what kind of Pakistan they wanted to live in. He also emphasised that the masses need to protect democracy and sovereignty of the country and not the army.
While urging the people to stand with him, he said that Pakistan should not be treated as a nation which could be used like a tissue paper. He emphasised that one-sided relationship would not work anymore.
Scenes from Karachi show a hoard of frustrated protesters disrupting traffic opposite Millennium Mall.
The protest in the capital started from Zero Point, with PTI supporters gathering and waving flags while chanting slogans in the former prime minister’s favour.
Flow of traffic at Srinagar Highway was affected due to the rally with long traffic lines forming.
Meanwhile, Chaudhry thanked PTI supporters for turning out in Rawalpindi for the protest
Awami Muslim League chief Sheikh Rashid also addressed a rally at Rawalpindi’s Lal Haveli and lashed out at the PML-N, taking aim in particular at prime ministerial nominee Shehbaz Sharif and alleging that he was trying to avoid indictment in a money laundering reference.
A large number of protesters including women and children turned up at Peshawar Press Club and expressed solidarity with the ousted prime minister. The crowd chanted slogans against Pakistan Democratic Movement chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and the heads of other political parties along with critique that appeared to be aimed at the military.
Images shared by the PTI also showed demonstrations in other parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa such as Bajaur and Abottabad. PTI leader Hammad Azhar posted a video of a rally from his constituency of NA-126 leaving for Liberty Chowk.
PTI Senator Ejaz Chaudhry also shared a video of a rally from the city’s NA-133 constituency to Liberty Market in which slogans against the United States could be heard. Other videos shared by the PTI showed a throng of supporters and party diehards out in full force at Liberty Chowk.
A protest was held in Karachi on Rashid Minhas Road where a large number of supporters, including women and children, were in attendance. Leader of the Opposition in Sindh Assembly, Haleem Adil Sheikh was among the local PTI leadership that was present. The protestors chanted slogans against the ‘imported government’ as well as PPP Chairman Asif Ali Zardari.
Overseas supporters of the PTI also came out to support Khan, with a video shared by Ali Haider Zaidi showing protestors raising slogans of “diesel” — a reference to Khan’s fierce political rival Rehman of the JUI-F.
Journalists shared footage showing PTI supporters gathered in London’s Hyde Park to register their protest.
More footage showed that PTI and PML-N supporters also had a face-off at Avenfield House in London where PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif owns apartments and resides.
PTI and PML-N supporters confronted each other during a rowdy demonstration outside Avenfield apartments a day after Imran Khan was voted out of power.
On instructions of Imran Khan, PTI UK’s leadership had announced that a protest will be held at Hyde Park Corner which will then march towards the American embassy but the organisers decided not to head there and instead assembled out at the Avenfield flats first and then moved from there to the Pakistan High Commission.
PTI’s supporters came from all over the UK and gathered in Hyde Park where emotional speeches were delivered for about two hours. The protestors then moved to Avenfield flats — located just five minutes away — where supporters of PML-N had already gathered to celebrate the possible election of Shahbaz Sharif as the next prime minister of Pakistan and the ouster of Imran Khan.
Outside the residence of Nawaz Sharif’s sons Hasan and Hussain Nawaz, supporters from both sides faced each other during a charged protest which lasted for over three hours.
PTI’s protestors raised slogans to protest the ouster of Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan through a vote of no confidence.
PM Imran Khan was ousted on Saturday after he lost the vote of no confidence in the National Assembly. Supporters were carrying banners showing support for Imran Khan and alleging that he has been removed through a “foreign conspiracy” – a claim made by Imran Khan which has been denied by Pakistan’s top security sources.
Imran Khan’s supporters said that Imran Khan should have remained in power till 2028 and was only driven out by the “corrupt” and “sellouts” bending to pressure from the US government. They said that the US government had conspired with the Opposition parties as well as PTI’s own dissidents to remove Imran Khan from power. The protestors called Pakistan’s entire Opposition and dissident PTI lawmakers “traitors”.
PML-N workers had arranged a dhol since morning and the dholists played to the full capacity, drowning out slogans of PTI till the time they left.
Around 50 policemen remained on the scene throughout the protest. They separated the two sides and didn’t let them come close to each other, restricting them to their columns on the street outside the Avenfield flats. PTI pelted eggs onto the PML-N crowd who responded by throwing bottles of water toward the PTI’s gathering.
PTI leaders didn’t explain why they decided not to go to the US embassy for the protest as originally planned.
PTI workers raised slogans saying “imported government not accepted”, “No Imran, no remittances”, “traitors”, and “no to regime change,” while PML-N supporters responded by chanting “losers, losers”, “Aleema Baaji is a thief” and “arrest Farah Gogi”.
