Former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan has called for “freedom” protests “at the end of streets and villages” across the country on Sunday evening for one hour starting at 5:30pm.
In a speech broadcast on YouTube on Saturday night, he said; “Freedom does not come easily. You have to snatch it. You have to sacrifice for it,”
The 70-year-old cricket star-turned-politician was released on Friday after Supreme Court of Pakistan called his arrest unlawful and ordered his immediate release on Thursday 11 May.
Reportedly, Mr. Khan’s arrest triggered deadly protests across Pakistan including capital, Islamabad, killing at least nine people, though no official casualty figures have been announced yet.
However, reports said that Sunday morning was quiet after several days of violence and political chaos.
Hundreds of police officers were injured during the protests and more than 4,000 people detained, mostly in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces.
Calling for his release, supporters blocked roads and damaged government buildings and property belonging to the military, who they blame for Khan’s removal.
However, Khan has distanced himself from the attacks against the military’s installations at the protests, denying his party workers were involved and calling for an independent investigation into the violence
Moreover, a former foreign minister and 9 other senior PTI leaders have been arrested.
Khan was ousted from power by a no-confidence vote in the parliament after 174 votes in the 342-members voted against him when his alliances withdrew from coalition and accused Khan of ‘mismanaging economy’.
He accused an army role in his removal.
Since them he was slapped with a slew of cases.
Khan, though, emerged as the country’s most popular leader and has held numerous rallies, calling for early elections since his removal as a Prime Minister.
He survived an assassination attempt in April last year during one of his large rallies in Wazirabad. Later, Khan blamed an army chief for the attack.
On Friday, he told reporters that “one man, the army chief” was behind his arrest.
Pakistan’s military has staged three coups since the country was founded in 1947 and enjoys massive influence in domestic politics.
On Saturday, the army warned against attempts to create “misperceptions” against the institution denied the accusations made by Khan.