LAHORE: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) on Saturday continued staging massive protest demonstrations on the second consecutive day at Liberty Roundabout in Gulberg where the party workers chanted slogans against, what they termed, foreign intervention in Pakistani politics.

A large number of party leaders, workers, including women, took part in the protests, which were called on the appeal of the ousted prime minister and PTI chairman Imran Khan, who lost the no-confidence vote in the National Assembly the other day.

The protests had covered the whole of the green area of Liberty Roundabout and there were massive rallies of motorcycles and cars on the road from the Kalma Chowk underpass till the Lahore Centre on the Main Boulevard.

Noor Jehan Road was also blocked, leading to the Liberty Market. Some of the protesters were mounted on the min-truck and leading the sloganeering through the loudspeakers.

Demonstrations in other Punjab cities as well

The protesters were waving the PTI flags and displaying banners and placards with slogans inscribed on them. Some common slogans included ‘Amreeka ka jo yar hai, ghaddar hai’; ‘Imran Khan qadam barhao – hum tumharay saath hein’, ‘imported government – na-manzoor’ and ‘foreign dictation – na-manzoor’.

PTI leaders Mian Mahmoodur Rasheed, Murad Raas, Sheikh Imtiaz, Musarrat Jamshed Cheema, Zaheer Abbas Khokhar and others led the protest demonstration.

The PTI leaders said the turncoats in the party should be named and shamed and added that they would soon be disqualified from courts.

There were massive protests being held at Lalik Jan Chowk in the Defence Housing Authority and other places of the provincial metropolis when this report was filed. There were reports of big rallies and demonstrations of the PTI against the ouster of the party government in other cities of Punjab, as well. Huge demonstrations were also held at the Rangpura Chowk in Sialkot, Mazdoor Puli in Sahiwal and famous Ghanta Ghar in Faisalabad. The PTI workers had gathered in Dera Ghazi Khan, Bahawalpur, Mianwali, Taunsa Sharif and Burewala.

The call for the protests was given by PTI Chairperson Imran Khan in his last address to the nation as the prime minister a day before the voting of the no-confidence motion against him in the National Assembly. All the protests were going on when this report was filed.

Published in Dawn, April 11th, 2022