Pakistan police arrest 'hundreds' of opposition supporters ahead of major rally
Gulf Times
Pakistani police detained hundreds of supporters of ousted prime minister Imran Khan overnight ahead of a major sit-in planned by the former leader, senior party members and police sources said Tuesday, as the government pledged to block the protest.
Khan, a cricket star turned populist politician, was kicked out of power last month in a vote of no-confidence, but has since pressured the country's fragile new coalition government by staging mass rallies across the country.
Alleging that he was removed through a "foreign conspiracy", Khan plans on Wednesday to lead tens of thousands of supporters from his power base in the northwestern city of Peshawar to the capital Islamabad demanding fresh elections.
"Tomorrow I will be leading the largest march of Pakistan's history. I don't consider it politics but jihad," Khan said, referring to a term used by Muslims to describe a struggle.