News Brief
Pakistan's Former Prime Minister Imran Khan Threatens To Launch Civil Disobedience Movement, Questions Police Crackdown On Protest
Former Pakistani prime Minister Imran Khan.
Pakistan’s jailed former Prime Minister, Imran Khan, has called on his supporters to rally next week and has threatened to launch a civil disobedience movement. This announcement comes in the aftermath of his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), leading a protest march in Islamabad, which reportedly turned violent and deadly.
In a post on X on Thursday, Khan urged his followers to gather on December 13 in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where his PTI party holds power.
Khan has demanded a judicial inquiry into the crackdown on the 25 November protest march, claiming it resulted in the deaths of 12 of his supporters. He also called for an investigation into the violence that occurred on 9 May last year, which he alleges led to the deaths of eight individuals.
Additionally, he insisted on the immediate release of all arrested political workers. In his statement, Khan issued a warning, declaring that if these demands were not met by the government, a civil disobedience movement would commence on 14 December.
The government has rejected Khan’s claims, denying any deaths during the 25 November protest march. Officials have instead accused Khan’s supporters of carrying out attacks on military installations during the unrest on 9 May 2022.
In a significant legal development, Khan was indicted on Thursday on charges of orchestrating the 9 May attacks, charges to which he pleaded not guilty. This indictment is just one of numerous legal cases against the 72-year-old former cricket star, who has been imprisoned since late last year.
Khan and his party argue that these cases are politically motivated, alleging that they were orchestrated by the military to exclude him from politics after his falling out with army generals prior to his 2022 ouster. However, the military has strongly denied these allegations, maintaining that it has no role in the cases filed against Khan.
