Former Pak PM Imran Khan threatens civil disobedience movement

Lahore: Jailed former prime minister Imran Khan has announced yet another round of protest, this time a civil disobedience movement, asking the Pakistani diaspora to boycott remittances if his demands are not met by Sunday.

Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has launched multiple protests through 2023 and 2024 demanding the release of their supreme leader, the latest being in November 2024.

In a long post on his official X handle on Thursday, Khan, 72, put forth two major demands -- release of under-trial political prisoners and establishment of judicial commissions for transparent investigations into the incidents of May 9, 2023 and November 26, 2024 -- to hold talks with the Shehbaz Sharif government at the federal level.

“If these demands are not met by Sunday, the first phase of the civil disobedience movement -- boycott of remittances -- will be launched.

“We will appeal to Pakistanis living abroad that the situation in Pakistan is evident to you, democracy, the judiciary, and the media has been stifled, and a period of oppression and fascism is ongoing. Therefore, we urge you to start the boycott of remittances,” he said in the post.

Police had arrested hundreds of PTI supporters who participated in the November 26 protest, which included a march to the capital, Islamabad, and a planned sit-in demonstration.