Pakistani opposition to launch anti-government protests today

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s main opposition parties will launch anti-government protests today, Friday, aimed to build pressure on the government of Prime Minister Imran Khan to call early general elections.
Opposition parties recently formed an alliance — the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) — which will address public gatherings across the country in the next several weeks. The first rally will be held in the city of Gujranwala today, followed by rallied in Karachi on October 18 and Quetta on October 25.
The government has formally announced that the opposition alliance can hold its gatherings at specufically designated spots. Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Senator Shibli Faraz said the government had allowed the rallies as “protest is the right of every political party.”
In a huddle at the residence of PDM chairman Maulana Fazlur Rehman in Islamabad on Thursday, the opposition pledged to go ahead with its planned rallies.
“This government is the product of election rigging, and it has badly failed to deliver,” Mian Iftikhar Hussain, PDM information-secretary, told the media after the meeting.
PM Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf ruling party came to power in August 2018 after defeating all major opposition parties. The opposition alliance has, however, said the party won a rigged election, which the government denies.
“We are out on the streets for transparent elections, and our program is completely peaceful,” Hussain said, adding that all segments of society, including health workers, teachers and even government employees, were protesting against the government’s policies.
“Who voted for you [PTI government] when people from all walks of life are protesting against you?” Hussain said.
Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, ex-premier and senior leader of the opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party, said former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who heads the PMLN, would also address the gathering through a video link.
Convicted in 2018 in corruption cases, Sharif is currently in London on medical bail, though local courts have issued his arrest warrants and directed the government to bring him back to face corruption cases.