Massive protests in Pakistan against Imran Khan's ouster

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) took out massive rallies in several cities across the country on Sunday to protest against Imran Khan's ouster as the Prime Minister through a no-confidence motion a night before.

Protest rallies were held in various cities including Islamabad, Karachi, Peshawar, and Lahore with demonstrators shouting slogans against the

Opposition

.

Earlier, Khan said that Sunday marked the beginning of a "freedom struggle", against what he called a "foreign conspiracy of regime change". In an attempt to galvanise his supporters, he said, "It is always the people who protected their own sovereignty and democracy". "Pakistan became an independent state in 1947; but the freedom struggle begins again today against a foreign conspiracy of regime change. It is always the people of the country who defend their sovereignty & democracy," he said in a tweet.

Karachi was lit up for Khan following his ouster. In Islamabad, the protest started from Zero Point, with PTI supporters gathering and waving flags while chanting slogans in the former PM's favour. Flow of traffic at Srinagar Highway was affected due to the rally with long traffic lines forming, according to Dawn newspaper.

PTI spokesperson Fawad Chaudhry had also called on the people to stage protests after Isha prayers while speaking to the media in Islamabad earlier in the day. He said that Khan not leading a massive movement would amount to a "betrayal with the country's politics and Constitution".

The party later issued a schedule of the various protests that were planned for cities all over the country starting 9:30 pm, according to Dawn newspaper. Meanwhile, Imran Khan said that never have such crowds come out so spontaneously and in such numbers in our history, rejecting the "imported government-led by crooks." Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan also expressed gratitude to the people of the country for supporting the protests against his ouster as the Prime Minister of Pakistan.

"Thank you to all Pakistanis for their amazing outpouring of support and emotions to protest against US-backed regime change abetted by local Mir Jafars to bring into power a coterie of pliable crooks all out on bail. Shows Pakistanis at home & abroad have emphatically rejected this," Imran Khan tweeted. The voting on the no-confidence motion against the Imran Khan-led PTI government began in the country's

National Assembly

late on Saturday night where 174 members recorded their votes in favour of the resolution that ousted the Imran Khan.