PAKISTAN-IMRAN KHAN RALLY Pakistan opposition leader calls for tax boycott in anti-government protest

Record ID: 214750

  • Title: PAKISTAN-IMRAN KHAN RALLY Pakistan opposition leader calls for tax boycott in anti-government protest
  • Date: 17th August 2014
  • Summary: CROWD
  • Embargoed: 1st September 2014 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Pakistan
  • Country: Pakistan
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA6SKVEOJ4AU9SBTP5PD0ZD1S68
  • Story Text: Leading opposition politician Imran Khan urged Pakistanis on Sunday (August 17) not to pay taxes or utility bills as a protest against the government, and vowed to force the country's "corrupt" prime minister to step down this week.
    "Listen, Oh, Pakistani people, we will go for civil disobedience. I will not pay taxes or utility bills," Khan shouted to thousands of supporters at a rally in central Islamabad.
    Police estimated on Sunday that around 55,000 people have occupied two streets in the centre of the Pakistani capital as part of separate protests led by Khan and popular cleric Tahir ul-Qadri.
    Both men say they will stay in the streets until Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, whom they condemn as corrupt, resigns.
    Qadri gave him a 48-hour ultimatum on Saturday (August 16) night.
    Sharif's landslide election win marked the first democratic transfer of power in the history of the nuclear-armed nation of 180 million people.
    But barely a year after taking power, he has struggled to overcome daily power cuts, a sluggish economy and a Taliban insurgency. Anti-Western militant groups have been growing in strength, worrying Pakistan's allies.
    Khan, a former international cricket star, did not repeat a call for protesters to march on parliament, saying he did not want to provoke violence.
    Khan alternated between urging his supporters to protest peacefully and warning authorities he might not be able to control them.
    "Nawaz Sharif, make your life easy and mine as well. For God sake, resign or I will not be able to stop them," he said.
    Less than one percent of Pakistanis pay income tax, and the last time Pakistan prosecuted someone for income tax evasion was more than 25 years ago.
    "This sit-in will continue for two days. I will stay here. After two days, your time is up," Khan said as supporters chanted "Go Nawaz Go".
    Khan said on Saturday that he was struggling to hold his supporters back from marching on the "Red Zone", an enclave that is home to top government buildings like Parliament and the Supreme Court and most Western embassies.
    Many of the young men at Khan's protest said they were eager to push against the fortified lines of riot police if Khan commanded.
    Riot police wearing body armour and carrying tear gas stacked shipping containers on top of each other and covered them with oil to prevent people climbing them behind the stage where Khan spoke.
    The country's information minister, Pervez Rashid, told local television station Geo the government would not permit protesters to overrun government offices or the Red Zone.
    Soon after Khan's speech, the Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan called a news conference and told journalists that the ruling party was constituting committees to negotiate with Khan and Qadri.
    "The government of Pakistan, Muslim League-N, has decided to constitute two separate committees tomorrow, to negotiate with PAT (Pakistan Awami Tehreek) and PTI (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf)," he told reporters.
    "What kind of law of the jungle are they trying to enforce? What kind of civil obedience is being introduced into Pakistan through which you want to ruin this country (God forbid)?" he said.
    Sharif's relationship with the powerful military has been poor, leading some in his government to suggest elements in the military are directing the protests to weaken the government and discourage policies it disapproves of.
    Those include the prosecution for treason of former army chief and President Pervez Musharraf, who overthrew Sharif in a coup in 1999, ushering in a decade of military rule.
    Despite Pakistan's history of coups, few feel the military wants to oust Sharif, however. The Supreme Court issued a warning on Friday (August 15) against "unconstitutional" action.
    Some analysts say the unrest has erupted because the opposition senses Sharif is vulnerable, not only over his rocky relations with the military, but also because of dithering over peace talks with the Taliban and failure to fill key ministries more than a year after taking office.
    Qadri and Khan both arrived in Islamabad late on Friday after a two-day procession of tens of thousands of people through Punjab province, heartland of support for Sharif. Their protests have remained separate because the two have different supporters and plans for what should happen if Sharif steps down.
    Qadri's supporters have set up camp on the capital's main thoroughfare, Jinnah Avenue, forcing many businesses to close. Khan's protest is on an adjacent street, in the area of Aabpara Chowk.
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