Khan said he would soon organize a mass march to the capital, as a culmination of his campaign to force the government of Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif to hold a snap election, which some analysts say Khan might win due to his growing popularity.
will soon give you a call for a march on Islamabad,” Khan told the cheering crowd, then asked: “Are you ready for it?”
“Yes,” came the response from his supporters.
Sharif has rejected the demand for early elections, saying the vote should take place as scheduled in 2023.
As during previous rallies, Tuesday’s speech was not shown live by TV stations on instructions from the country’s media regulatory agency. The regulators have banned broadcasting his live speeches, purportedly because of his recent critical remarks about the military and judiciary. Viewers also had difficulty accessing the speech via YouTube and other social media.
Since his ouster, Khan has claimed that the current government came into power under a plot by the U.S. which allegedly disagreed with his more independent foreign policy; Washington has denied such a claim.