ISLAMABAD - Pakistan’s Parliament is to meet in a special joint session on Wednesday to “take important decisions” to enforce the state’s authority, local media reported, in the midst of a crisis over anti-government defiance from former prime minister Imran Khan.
Khan, a former cricket star, was prime minister from 2018 until 2022, when he was ousted from office in a parliamentary vote. Since then, he has been demanding a new election and holding protests across the country to press his case.
His supporters have clashed with police several times in recent days as the authorities try to force him to appear in court in connection with various cases brought against him.
The office of the Speaker of Parliament, in calling Wednesday’s joint session, did not give a reason, but the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) said the ruling coalition had called for Parliament to “take important decisions” to ensure the writ of the state was enforced.
The APP, reporting on a meeting attended by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his Cabinet, cited the participants as saying Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf was not a political party but “rather a gang of militants”, and its “enmity against the state” could not be tolerated.
Mr Sharif has rejected Khan’s demand for a new election, saying it would be held as scheduled later this year.
Parliament will meet in the capital Islamabad as Khan’s supporters gather for his latest rally in the eastern city of Lahore.
The clashes between Khan’s supporters and the security forces have brought a new round of political chaos to the nuclear-armed country of 220 million people, which is in the midst of a crippling economic crisis.
Khan says the government and the powerful military are trying to stop him from contesting the next election, scheduled for November. If convicted in a case, he could face disqualification from the polls.
Both the government and military deny Khan’s claim.
Police have arrested hundreds of his supporters in raids in recent days in response to the clashes. REUTERS
