Since his dismissal, Khan has held protest rallies across the country to demand early elections, but the government has said they will be held as scheduled in October or November next year.
Political instability has also fueled economic uncertainty, with international rating agencies questioning whether the current government can sustain tough economic policies in the face of looming political pressures and opinion polls.
Supporters of Imran Khan’s party chanted slogans next to burning tires on Friday.attributed to him:AP
Under Pakistani law, a lawmaker found guilty of corruption or misuse of public office can be banned for up to five years.
Khan’s lawyer, Faisal Chaudhry, told Reuters the court had no jurisdiction in the case and an appeal would be lodged.
“It is illegal and unconstitutional,” he said.
Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif welcomed the ruling, but wrote on Twitter that the position of Prime Minister had been turned into a source of personal income through “corrupt practices”.
Imran Khan supported the slogans as they blocked a road in a demonstration.attributed to him:AP
“The idol of ‘honesty and trustworthiness,'” Sharif said.
“No matter how it is divided, no matter how it happens, the ruling is exacerbating a systemic political crisis that will make it difficult to address Pakistan’s perfect storm of other crises — economic stress, the resurgence of terrorism, the floods,” said Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center. .
Officials said Khan’s supporters protested in various cities.
In the northwestern city of Peshawar, where the Pakistan Khan Insaf Movement (PTI) party runs the provincial government, groups of supporters, dozens each, have blocked a number of major roads including the highway connecting the city to the capital, Islamabad, to the chagrin of drivers. .
“I am going to our village for the weekend with my family and I have been waiting in the car for more than two hours as PTI workers closed the roads,” said Hamid Khan in Peshawar.
“We haven’t excluded their leader, so why are they punishing us?”
Police official Sohail Khan said a few dozen protesters tried to block a major artery in Islamabad and were pushed with tear gas. He said protesters attacked police with bricks, injuring three officials, and unsuccessfully tried to block other roads in the capital as well.
Dozens of Imran Khan’s supporters also blocked roads in the eastern city of Lahore and set tires on fire.
“He is now proven to be a certified thief,” Khan’s opponent, Maryam Nawaz, of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), told reporters in London in recorded comments broadcast by local Geo News TV.
Reuters
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Originally published at Melbourne News Vine
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