Former Pakistani PM Khan calls off protest march to avoid creating 'havoc'
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, in his first public appearance since being wounded in an assassination attempt earlier this month, said on Saturday that he was calling off his protest march to Islamabad because he feared it would cause havoc in the country.
Khan has been holding country-wide protests to push the government for early elections ever since being ousted from power in April. The protests were to culminate in a march to Islamabad, which threatened to worsen political turmoil in the nuclear-armed country which is battling an economic crisis.
"I have decided not to go to Islamabad because I know there will be destruction and the loss will be to the country," Khan said while speaking at a gathering of thousands of supporters in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, near the capital, Islamabad.
Tight security was in place for Khan's appearance. A police official told local television channel Geo TV that a total of 10,000 personnel had been deployed for the event, with snipers positioned at various points for his security.
Khan was earlier this month shot in the shin when his anti-government protest convoy, bound for Islamabad, came under attack in the east of the country in what his aides said was a clear assassination attempt by his rivals.
On Saturday, Khan arrived on stage using a walking frame and was seated behind bulletproof glass, instead of the rostrum, as he addressed the crowd. He said he had been told by various security sources that there was still a threat to his life.
Khan said he was now consulting his party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), on the possibility of resigning from all provincial assemblies in a fresh bid to push for early elections.
PTI has already resigned from federal parliament, but remains in power in two provinces and two administrative units.
