LAHORE: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) workers and supporters held rallies in different parts of the province in protest against what they believe a ‘foreign conspiracy’ hatched to oust Imran Khan’s government.

In Lahore, the PTI supporters led by Dr Yasmin Rashid gathered at the Liberty Chowk in the evening for a peaceful protest. They also watched Imran Khan’s Karachi rally speech on a big screen installed there.

The PTI supporters also gathered in other parts of Punjab, including Kasur, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Okara, Sahiwal, Sargodha, Chakwal, Nankana Sahib and Gujrat.

A large gathering was also held in Pakpattan, where Rao Wasim Hashim and Rao Umar Hashim led the rally and spoke against the ‘imported government’. They said the PTI would return to power after the election with a two-thirds majority.

The charged PTI workers and supporters chanted slogans against the new government and its leadership. They were also shouting slogans against the US.

Meanwhile, for the eighth consecutive day since the ouster of the PTI government in the centre ‘imported hakumat namanzoor’ (imported government not acceptable) is the top trend on Twitter.

On Saturday 1.83 million tweets were made in this regard, targeting the Shehbaz-led united government and expressing solidarity with Imran Khan.

PTI vice president Shah Mahmood Qureshi complained about ‘poor’ media coverage of the party’s protests. “You can censor us, ban us and black us out but it makes no difference: people will keep coming on to the streets for an independent, sovereign Pakistan - Purana Pakistan rejected,” he said in a tweet on Saturday.

Published in Dawn, April 17th, 2022