Despite the ongoing government repression, tens of thousands of supporters of Imran, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, will hold demonstrations across the country on Sunday, January 28 (eighth day).

These protestors once again pledged to vote for Imran Khan’s candidates in the February 8 elections.

71-year-old Imran Khan has encouraged the election candidates of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf to organize rallies to mobilize voters in national and state elections.

These elections have already been accompanied by accusations of fraud before the voting and surveillance regarding the involvement of the army of the country, which would potentially affect the results of the elections.

According to polls, Imran Khan is the most popular politician in Pakistan and Tehreek-e-Insaf will be the largest political party in the country.

Karachi police used tear gas and wooden sticks to disperse thousands of protesters and arrested more than 24 protesters. The police defended themselves and said that the leaders of Hizb Tehreek-e-Insaf had not received permission to start political activities.

Hizb Tehreek-e-Insaf condemned the suppression of protesters in the city of Karachi and called it one of the “most shameful actions”.

Although the police refused permission to march, the demonstrations in other cities including Lahore, Rawalpindi, Peshawar and Faisalabad ended peacefully.

After Imran Khan was removed from the chair of Sadrat Kanar in April 2022 by a vote of no confidence in the Kishore Parliament, Hizb Tehreek-e-Insaf has faced significant obstacles. Hizb Tehreek-e-Insaf has been banned from holding public gatherings and the nomination of its main members in the elections has been rejected.

In addition, in early January, the Supreme Court of Pakistan confirmed the decision of the Election Commission of Pakistan, according to which the candidates of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf could not hold the election badge.

Hizb Tehreek-e-Insaf Pakistan condemned this move and the Supreme Court of Pakistan said that this decision was made to prevent the party from participating in the general elections next month. In addition, the nickname Imran Khan has been banned in the media and major news channels.

The dismissed Prime Minister of Pakistan has charged that if the crime and corruption would end up in prison, if the powerful military forces of the country would have engineered the United States order to remove him from the presidency. Washington and Islamabad have rejected this accusation.