ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Imran Khan’s party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), has summoned rallies in the Pakistani cities of Peshawar, Karachi and Lahore, in an attempt to mobilize the masses for a snap election in the South Asian country.
Khan resigned as a member of the National Assembly on Monday, a day after his ouster from the country’s top political office in a no-confidence vote. The former PM says the new government of Shehbaz Sharif is “imported” and was brought to power through a foreign conspiracy orchestrated by the United States. Washington has denied the accusations.
On Tuesday, the cricket star-turned-politician called supporters to his first anti-government rally in Peshawar tomorrow, Wednesday, saying they must campaign to ensure that fresh elections were “immediately” announced.
“The biggest message I will give my nation from Peshawar is that you have to protect your independence, your democracy yourself, no one else can do it, no army can do it,” Khan said in a video message. “We have to run a complete campaign that elections should be held immediately in Pakistan.”
Shafqat Mahmood, a former minister and a member of Khan’s PTI, said his party had planned rallies in Karachi and Lahore as well.
“Tomorrow there is a rally in Peshawar. On the 16th [April], there is a rally at Quaid-e-Azam’s mausoleum in Karachi,” Mahmood told reporters in Lahore.
“And, I want to tell this good news to my fellows in Punjab and Lahore that, God willing, a rally will be held at Minar-e-Pakistan on the 23rd.”
Khan led months-long anti-government demonstrations in August 2014, with his supporters flooding the center of Pakistan’s capital and vowing to stay in the streets until then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif resigned. He called off the protests nearly four months later only after a Taliban assault on a school in Peshawar in which at least 132 students and nine staff members were killed.
“On Wednesday I will be holding a jalsa [public rally] in Peshawar after Isha [evening prayers] — my first jalsa after being removed through a foreign-instigated regime change,” Khan said in a Twitter post on Monday. “I want all our people to come, as Pakistan was created as an independent, sovereign state not as a puppet state of foreign powers.”
“We are demanding immediate elections as that is the only way forward — to let the people decide, through fair & free elections, whom they want as their prime minister,” he added.
The National Assembly of Pakistan elected the former leader of the opposition, Shehbaz Sharif, as the country’s new prime minister on Monday. Khan’s PTI party resigned en masse before Sharif’s election.
Khan’s party to hold rally in Peshawar today to press for ‘immediate’ elections
https://arab.news/g3cv7
Khan’s party to hold rally in Peshawar today to press for ‘immediate’ elections
- Khan says new government is “imported,” brought to power through foreign conspiracy orchestrated by US
- The rally in Peshawar will be held on Wednesday, followed by public gatherings in Karachi and Lahore
Pakistan says defense pact with Saudi Arabia elevated brotherly ties to ‘new heights’
- Pakistan, Saudi Arabia signed strategic defense pact last year pledging aggression against one will be treated as attack on both
- Deputy PM Ishaq Dar says enduring bonds with Islamic and Arab nations form vital pillar of Pakistan’s foreign policy
ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar said on Wednesday that Pakistan’s defense pact with Saudi Arabia elevated its brotherly ties with the Kingdom to “new heights,” stressing that close ties with Arab and Islamic nations form a key pillar of Islamabad’s foreign policy.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed a Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement on Sept. 17 last year, pledging that aggression against one country would be treated as an attack on both, enhancing joint deterrence and formalizing decades of military and security cooperation.
Both nations agreed in October 2025 to launch an economic cooperation framework to strengthen trade and investment ties.
“In the Middle East, our landmark Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement with Saudi Arabia has elevated our brotherly ties to new heights,” Dar said while speaking at the Pakistan Governance Forum 2026 event in Islamabad.
The Pakistani deputy prime minister was speaking on the topic “Navigating International Relations Amidst Changing Geo-Politics.”
Dar noted that Pakistan has reinforced partnerships with other Middle Eastern nations such as the UAE, Qatar, Jordan, Oman, Egypt and Bahrain. He said these partnerships have yielded “concrete agreements” in investment, agriculture, infrastructure, and energy sectors.
“Our enduring bonds with Islamic and Arab nations form a vital pillar of our foreign policy, and we will continue to expand our partnerships across Asia, Latin America, and Africa,” he said.
Dar pointed out that the presidents of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan have undertaken visits to Pakistan in recent months, reflecting Central Asian nations’ desire to boost cooperation with Islamabad.
On South Asia, the Pakistani deputy PM said Pakistan has successfully transformed its fraternal ties with Bangladesh into “a substantive partnership.”
“Similarly, the trilateral mechanism involving China, Pakistan, and Bangladesh has been launched with a view to expanding and deepening regional cooperation and synergy,” the Pakistani minister said.
He said Islamabad has strengthened its “all-weather” partnership with China via the second phase of the multi-billion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor agreement and “unwavering support” from both sides for each other’s core interests.
Dar said Pakistan had also reinvigorated its partnership with the US, advancing cooperation in trade, technology, investment, and regional stability.
“This calibrated approach has enhanced our ability to navigate complexity with skill and confidence, ensuring that our national interests are served without compromising our core foreign policy principles,” he said.
