Imran Khan, the ousted Prime Minister of Pakistan, criticized the country’s military establishment for siding with “corrupt mafias” to prevent him from returning to power. Speaking to supporters of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party from his residence in Zaman Park, Lahore, Khan urged people to support the Supreme Court, which he claimed was under attack from the current “imported government.” He also expressed concern over the division in the Supreme Court, saying it would be a tragedy for the country. Khan argued that democracy in Pakistan was now hanging by a thread called Supreme Court, and that the nation must support it. He warned that if the government continued to defy the court’s decision to hold elections in Punjab on May 14, people should be ready to take to the streets after Eid. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz-led coalition government has also imposed an “undeclared ban” on the broadcast of Khan’s speeches by the country’s electronic media.
