The protestors of Azadi March feel that Imran Khan government is the reason behind Pakistan inflation and critical condition.
Islamabad| On Friday the protestors in “Azadi March” demanded resignation from Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan within 48 hours. The government has denounced the Azadi March as a threat to democracy.
Imran Khan faced massive opposition from protestors as he failed on his promise to end up corruption and job creation. The protestors said that Imran Khan’s government is the reason behind Pakistan inflation and critical condition.
“I’m giving a two-day deadline for the resignation,” the leader of the campaign, religious party chief Fazl-ur-Rehman, told a rally of tens of thousands of supporters in Islamabad.
Go Niazi Go
Echoes at Sukkur#GoNiaziGo#GameOverSelected #آزادی_مارچ_سویلین_راج@simmikazmi @ArfaBhutto786@AyazBuriroPPP @AasimSaeedPPPpic.twitter.com/G6hR3jqzoj— Majid Ali Zardari (@MajidAliZardari) October 28, 2019
The Opposition says Khan’s government is illegitimate and is being propped up by the military, which has ruled Pakistan for about half of its history and sets security and foreign policy.
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The military, on the other hand, denies meddling in politics and Khan has dismissed the calls to step down. Rehman, leader of the conservative Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl party, is a veteran politician who can mobilize significant support in religious schools across the country.
He was joined at the rally by leaders of the country’s two main opposition parties. He had earlier warned of chaos if the government does not step down, but on Friday told the crowd they would decide what action to take if their two-day sit-in at the rally site failed.
This is incredible.
More than 100,000 people converged on Islamabad for the #AzadiMarch or Freedom March pic.twitter.com/Tk2EDxL1eG
— Natasha Fatah (@NatashaFatah) October 30, 2019
He said he did not want confrontation with the military. “Now this government has to go but we don’t want a collision with institutions,” he said referring to the military. “We want to see the institutions being impartial,” he added. Police estimated 35,000 people attended the rally.
Security was tight in Islamabad with the government and diplomatic sector just a few kilometres from the rally site sealed off, roads blocked by barriers of shipping containers. Schools were closed, public transport suspended and Internet services interrupted in some areas.
The army chief, Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa, earlier urged Khan to handle the protest peacefully and avoid violence by both sides, a military spokesman said.
The government has said the protesters will not be allowed to paralyze the capital. Violence could erupt if crowds try to force their way into the sealed-off government sector.
A government spokeswoman said the Opposition was talking of protecting democracy but was a threat to it.
“These steps are against the rules of Pakistan and tantamount to destroying democratic norms and the constitution,” the spokeswoman, Firdous Ashiq Awan, said on Twitter.
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