NEW DELHI: Thousands of Pakistanis on Friday joined former prime minister Imran Khan (pix) in the city of Lahore as he began a protest march towards the capital Islamabad.
Imran and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) have mobilised the masses to demand early general elections, setting the stage for a showdown with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's six-month-old coalition government.
“Tsunami at Liberty Chowk,“ the PTI tweeted in English, referring to the city area where Imran was greeted by thousands of his supporters in the afternoon.
“The revolution has started from Lahore,“ it said in another tweet in Urdu.
Supporters from across Pakistan will join the march, which culminates in Islamabad on November 4.
Since he was ousted in a parliamentary vote of no-confidence in April, Imran has held more than 50 mass rallies across Pakistan to put pressure on the government he says was installed through a United States-backed regime change conspiracy.
Imran said his march is for “haqeeqi azadi” (true sovereignty) that allows Pakistan to pursue independent policies and where people’s fundamental rights are not violated.
Addressing his supporters in Lahore, he railed against rising prices, corruption and custodial torture of his party leaders and journalists supporting him.
“People are drowning in inflation. The ‘imported government’ has created the worst inflation in 50 years,“ he said.
“I want free and fair elections. I want the people to decide who will lead the country, not America or anyone else,“ Imran said.-Bernama