Pakistan braces for tense Monday: Imran Khan’s call for ‘complete crackdown’ v planned rally by key government ally

Monday in Pakistan is likely to be tense as former Prime Minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party chief Imran Khan called for a nationwide ‘freedom’ protest on Sunday, in the backdrop of a protest rally planned by a key government ally, Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) outside the country’s apex court.

Imran Khan’s protest call came after he was set free following his brief arrest last week triggering a deadly unrest in the country.

“Freedom does not come easily. You have to snatch it. You have to sacrifice for it,” he said in an address, calling out his supporters to hold protests ‘at the end of your streets and villages’.

Similarly, the official Twitter handle of Khan’s political party asked its supporters to ‘peacefully show strength’ in Lahore’ Zaman Park, area where Khan’s residence is situated.

“Before we all lose communications, head to Zaman Park in Lahore to peacefully show strength there. Important steps: take face masks, salt in small quantity and water bottles with you to protect yourself in illegal teargas shelling,” PTI said in the tweet.

Meanwhile, PDM’s Maulana Fazlur Rahman, along with other political parties, has planned a protest rally outside the Supreme Court of Pakistan over the decision to release the ex-PM who was arrested in a corruption case. The protest call comes at a time when the authorities imposed a ban on political gatherings in the federal capital. Country’s interior minister Rana Sanaullah cited security agencies and said reports about the protest in Islamabad’s Red Zone, where government buildings are situated, were ‘very alarming’.

“We are scared that if the protest is held in the Red Zone tomorrow, the Islamabad police have said that it will be difficult to control the protesters. So, I and Ishaq Dar (Finance Minister) went to Fazlur Rehman and requested him to hold the protest outside the Red Zone,” he said at a presser.

Notably, Khan is likely to appear before the Lahore high court to seek bail in various cases to avoid arrest after Islamabad high court’s order which barred authorities from arresting him in any case till Monday.

The PTI chief has divulged about Shehbaz Sharif government’s ‘London plan’ which he alleged is aimed to outlaw his party, put his wife Bushra Begum in jail and charge him under some sedition law to keep him inside for next ten years.

Indicating at a ‘complete crackdown’, Khan alleged that the Pakistan government will ban the ‘largest and only federal party’ of the country, ‘Just as they banned the Awami league in East Pakistan (now, Bangladesh)’.

“To ensure that there’s is no public reaction, they have done two things, first deliberate terror is unleashed not just on PTI workers but on common citizens as well. Second, the media is totally controlled and muzzled,” he said in a series of tweet.