Islamabad inlockdown asprotestersdescend
Tens of thousands ask PM Imran Khan to resign
ISLAMABAD:PAKISTAN’S capital city was under lockdown on Friday as tens of thousands of supporters of a firebrand cleric and main opposition parties from around the country gathered in a march to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Along with Maulana Fazlur Rehman of the Jamiat Ulema-eislam-fazl (JUI-F), leaders of the Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan People’s Party and Awami National Party addressed the marchers on the outskirts of Islamabad.
Rehman gave Khan a two-day ultimatum to resign, saying the “Gorbachev of Pakistan” must step down without testing the patience of peaceful protestors.
Addressing the so-called ‘Azadi March’, Rehman said only people of Pakistan and not any “institution” had the right to govern the country.
PML-N leader Shehbaz Sharif said the march was the first step in the opposition’s movement to dislodge the Pakistan Tehreek-einsaf (PTI) government. He criticised the government for its antipoor policies and attitude and questioned the decision-making process of Khan.
“If God gives us the opportunity, we will put up a united front and work on fixing Pakistan’s economy. Imran Khan has a lot of support from all institutions – if we had only 10% of this support, we would have taken Pakistan on a Sputnik-like flight,” he said.
MIRPURKHAS MOURNS TRAIN FIRE VICTIMS MIRPURKHAS:DISTRAUGHT relatives gathered on Friday for the first funerals of some of the 74 people killed when fire ripped through a crowded train in Pakistan, with many of the victims residents of a single town.
Sobbing family members crowded a government building in Mirpurkhas overnight as the first bodies covered in white cloth began arriving by ambulance from the scene of the disaster.
After the morning prayers, with women watching from nearby rooftops, more than a hundred men attended the first funeral - of a car mechanic named Mohammad Saleem, who was in his late 40s.
It was held at the Bismillah Mosque, from which at least 42 pilgrims had left to board the train one day earlier, bound for a religious festival near Lahore.
Officials say as some of the train’s passengers cooked breakfast at dawn on Thursday, two of their gas cylinders exploded, sending flames racing through three carriages as the train passed near Rahim Yar Khan, in Punjab province.
FORMER PM SHARIF’S HEALTH IMPROVES
LAHORE: Former PM Nawaz Sharif’s health has reportedly shown signs of improvement as his platelet count rose to 51,000 even though his blood pressure and sugar level is still high.
The 69-year-old is admitted in Services Hospital.