PAKISTAN: Opposition leader Imran Khan calls on Nawaz Sharif to step down and vows to continue his protest against the Pakistani Prime Minister who, he claims, won after a rigged election

Record ID: 214739

  • Title: PAKISTAN: Opposition leader Imran Khan calls on Nawaz Sharif to step down and vows to continue his protest against the Pakistani Prime Minister who, he claims, won after a rigged election
  • Date: 16th August 2014
  • Summary: MORE OF CROWD
  • Embargoed: 31st August 2014 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Pakistan
  • Country: Pakistan
  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA2RSK9TSKMA2N3YDBICFX064R6
  • Story Text: In a late night anti-government rally that continued into early Saturday morning (August 16), cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan told supporters he would continue his protest in Pakistan's capital until Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif quits and new elections are held.
    Khan's rally is one of two large anti-government movements that entered Islamabad late on Friday (August 15) night, presenting the 15-month-old civilian government with its biggest challenge yet.
    Khan, who heads the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf party, and populist cleric Tahir ul-Qadri, say they will occupy main streets of the capital until Sharif steps down from power.
    The unrest has raised questions Pakistan's stability, at a time when the nuclear-armed nation of 180 million is waging an offensive against Pakistani Taliban militants and the influence of anti-Western and sectarian groups is growing.
    Khan has vowed to stay until Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif quits and new polls are held
    "I will come here (again tomorrow) and will spend nights and will stay here until (Pakistani Prime Minister) Nawaz Sharif resigns. We don't accept a prime minister who has won and who is appointed after rigged elections," Khan told his supporters.
    A day earlier, a stone-throwing mob attacked Khan's convoy as he led supporters through the eastern city of Gujranwala. Men waving ruling-party posters attacked his convoy, throwing shoes and stones.

    "When I was entering Islamabad a policeman on the street came to me in respectable manner and gave me a letter; the written content of the letter was that 'Imran Khan your life is in danger'," Khan said.
    Khan's convoy was shot at but he was not injured, his spokeswoman said.
    The government insisted shots were not fired, and police arrested 16 activists from the ruling party.
    Many of Khan's supporters were seen Saturday morning camping out on the streets of Islamabad, determined to remain in the capital until their demands were met.

    "We came here on the call of Imran Khan to Islamabad, and we will not go back till the government fulfils Khan's demands," said Mushtaq Hussain, a retired teacher.

    "We came on Khan's call, and whether it's day or night, rain or there is hot weather, it can't break our spirit and we will return after we help Khan succeed in his mission," said Rafahat Hussain, a supporter.
    Some members of Sharif's party have suggested the protests are secretly backed by elements in the powerful military, which has had an uneasy relationship with Sharif.
    How far Khan and Qadri succeed in destabilising the government is likely to depend on the stance taken by a military, which has a long history of mounting coups.
    Few people fear a coup but many officials think the threat of unrest will increase the military's hold over the government.
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