Khan defiant, won’t resign as anti-govt protests continue
ISLAMABAD: Rejecting calls by opposition parties to resign, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday directed a government committee headed by the country’s defence minister to hold talks with the opposition’s Rehbar Committee as thousands of supporters of the JUI-F party continued to protest in Islamabad.
A day earlier, JUI-F leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman had given a two-day ultimatum to the prime minister to resign. A caravan of protesters arrived in Islamabad from the expressway on Friday.
Rehman told his supporters that the people of Pakistan had given their verdict and that Khan’s government must quit. “The (last) general elections were a sham and fraud,” he said. “This government has to go. We cannot give it more time.”
The JUI-F leader claimed that the government has left the people of Kashmir stranded. He also said that Kashmiris will fight for their independence and right to self-determination.
In response, PM Khan said he has instructed a government body to meet the Rehbar Committee and then brief him on the democratic rights that the protesters are seeking.
Khan also presided over a meeting of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-insaf’s core committee to chalk out a strategy ahead of Sunday when the ultimatum given by the protesting opposition expires.
30 MIGRANTS FOUND IN TRUCK IN FRANCE NICE:MORE than 30 migrants from Pakistan have been found hidden in a lorry in France, prosecutors said on Saturday. They said the driver, who was also from Pakistan, was detained.