Pakistan’s ousted Prime Minister Imran Khan, on Sunday, announced a plan to topple the new government, with his supporters converging on Islamabad on May 25, 2022 for a protest that he hopes will prompt the dissolution of parliament, A News has reported.
“We will never accept (the new government) – no matter how long we have to remain in Islamabad, we will remain there,” Khan told reporters in north-western city of Peshawar.
Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehrek-e-Insaaf (PTI), has asked its supporters to converge in Islamabad on May 25 to call for the dissolution of parliament as well as free and fair elections.
Khan, who openly censured the country’s powerful military for not taking his side when he faced a no-confidence vote, asked the military establishment to “stay neutral” and warned authorities against taking any steps to stop the march.
The former premier once again blamed the United States for being behind the regime change because he chose to visit Moscow. The Pakistani military, the White House and the State Department have denied the allegation.
The current government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is attempting to tackle the political, economic and constitutional crises the country has been facing since Khan was removed from office on April 9.
Khan, who had lost the support of allies and some party members who defected to the opposition, refuses to accept anything less than fresh elections.
Khan came to power in 2018 promising to eradicate corruption and revive the economy, but failed to deliver on most of his pledges. He has nonetheless been able to draw huge crowds at rallies since his removal from office.
