ISLAMABAD: Senior Vice President of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, Chaudhry Fawad Hussain, on Monday warned the government against using force to stop a protest march to Islamabad on May 25 to press for fresh elections.
Khan, who served as prime minister for over three and half years, was ousted last month in a no-confidence vote in parliament by an alliance of all major political parties. Since his ouster, he has addressed rallies in several cities as he mobilizes for a grand show of strength in the capital on Wednesday. He describes the planned march to Islamabad as a move to protect the country’s sovereignty, as he alleges that the vote that removed him was a United States-organized plot. Khan’s main goal is to pressure the government to announce immediate elections.
Addressing a press conference Hussain said it would not be in the government’s “favor” if it decided to arrest PTI leaders and supporters as they marched to the capital. He said Khan would lead the march from Peshawar to Islamabad himself.
Supporters would leave Peshawar on the morning of May 25 and reach Islamabad the same day, Hussain said, adding that the march to Islamabad was restricted to people in the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkwa provinces, while supporters in Karachi would hold protests in their own city.
He said Khan would also announce his next action plan on June 3.
Khan says the US wanted him gone from office because of his foreign policy choices in favor of Russia and China, and a visit he made on February 24 to Moscow, where he held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin as Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine. He has also said the US dislikes his strident criticism of Washington’s war on terror.
The US State Department has denied any involvement in Pakistan’s internal politics.
