ISLAMABAD (AP) – Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan postponed the resumption of his protest march on the country’s capital meant to challenge his successor’s government, his party said yesterday.
A senior leader in Khan’s Tehreek-e-Insaf party Fawad Chaudhry said that instead of yesterday as previously announced, the march on Islamabad is now to resume tomorrow. He did not give any reason for the delay.
Khan, who began his protest march late last month in the city of Lahore with thousands of followers, was wounded in the leg in a shooting last week when a gunman attacked his convoy, killing one of his supporters. Thirteen other people were also wounded.
The gunman was arrested and has purportedly confessed to an assassination attempt on Khan, according to police. The attack has raised concerns about growing political instability in Pakistan, which has a history of political violence and assassinations.
Following the attack, Khan suspended his march pending surgery over the weekend and later, his recovery. His supporters have rallied in the meantime across the country, at times clashing with police.
On Monday, they blocked roads in the Pakistani capital and also in the cities of Lahore, Peshawar, Rawalpindi and elsewhere in the country.
Scores of Khan’s followers continued blocking roads near Islamabad and elsewhere yesterday, disrupting traffic.
Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan sought an apology for the inconveniences caused by sit-ins by Khan’s party and asked the demonstrators to disperse to avoid the use of force by the government.
