Khan calls off protest march amid ‘havoc fear’
EX-LEADER ATTENDS FIRST RALLY SINCE GUN ATTACK
FORMER Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan, in his first public appearance since being wounded in a gun attack earlier in November, said last Saturday (26) he was calling off his protest march to Islamabad because he feared it would cause havoc in the country.
Khan has been holding country-wide protests to push the government for early elections since being ousted from power in April. The protests were to culminate in a march to Islamabad, which threatened to worsen political turmoil in the country which is battling an economic crisis.
“I have decided not to go to Islamabad because I know there will be havoc and the loss will be to the country,” Khan said while speaking at a gathering of thousands of supporters in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, near the capital Islamabad.
Tight security was in place for Khan’s appearance. A police official told local television channel Geo TV that a total of 10,000 personnel had been deployed for the event, with snipers positioned at various points for his security.
“I have seen death from up close,” said Khan, who hobbled to the stage with a walking frame to speak to supporters from a plush seat behind a panel of bulletproof glass. “I’m more worried about the freedom of Pakistan than my life,” he told the crowd. “I will fight for this country until my last drop of blood.”
He said he had been told by various security sources there was still a threat to his life.
Khan was earlier in November shot in the shin when his antigovernment protest convoy bound for Islamabad came under attack in the east of the country, in what his aides said was a clear assassination attempt by his rivals. He named prime minister Shehbaz Sharif and a senior military official of plotting his assassination, but both the government and military have denied involvement. Sharif has called for a transparent inquiry. One person has been arrested over the incident and said he acted alone.
Khan attracts cultish devotion from supporters, but last Saturday made his speech hundreds of metres from the bulk of the crowd of around 25,000 to 30,000, separated by coils of barbed wire and a buffer of police officers.
Khan-led protests in May spiralled into 24 hours of chaos, with the capital blockaded and running clashes across Pakistan between police and protesters.
Khan also said he will resign from all provincial assemblies in a fresh bid to push for early elections. His party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has already resigned from the federal parliament, but remained in power in two provinces and two administrative units.
Top leaders of Pakistan’s ruling coalition last Sunday (27) described Khan’s decision to resign from the provincial assemblies as acceptance of his failure to force the government to announce early elections.