ISLAMABAD, (Reuters) – Leading opposition politician Imran Khan urged Pakistanis yesterday not to pay taxes or utility bills as a protest against the government and vowed to force the country’s “corrupt” prime minister to step down this week.
“After two days … your time is up,” Khan shouted to thousands of supporters at a rally in central Islamabad.
Police estimated on Sunday that around 55,000 people have occupied two streets in the center of the Pakistani capital as part of separate protests led by Khan and cleric Tahir ul-Qadri.
Both men say they will stay in the streets until Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, whom they condemn as corrupt, resigns. Qadri gave him a 48-hour ultimatum on Saturday night.
Sharif’s landslide election win marked the first democratic transfer of power in the history of the nuclear-armed nation of 180 million people. But barely a year after taking power, he has struggled to overcome daily power cuts, a sluggish economy and a Taliban insurgency. Anti-Western militant groups have been growing in strength, worrying Pakistan’s allies.
