Rival pro-government and opposition supporters descend on Islamabad ahead of Imran Khan’s no-confidence vote.
Pakistan, Islamabad – Tens of thousands of activists from Pakistan’s ruling party and opposition groups have descended on Islamabad ahead of a parliamentary vote to destabilize Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government.
Khan, who is under increasing political pressure, had urged supporters from across the country to gather on Sunday for a show of strength ahead of the critical vote next week.
“It is a battle for our nation’s future,” the cricketer-turned-politician said in an audio message posted to Twitter on Sunday.
Activists from Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party began arriving at the venue early in the morning, a parade ground near the Faizabad Interchange, where people danced to party anthems and shouted slogans like “long live Imran Khan.”
PTI leaders predicted that more than a million people would attend the rally, despite the fact that the venue can only hold 30,000.
Speaking at the rally on Sunday, Khan claimed that the no-confidence motion was the result of a “foreign conspiracy” and that “funding was being channeled into Pakistan from abroad.”
An alliance of opposition parties has accused Khan’s government of corruption and blamed him for mismanaging the country in the midst of a deepening economic crisis.
Opposition supporters are also congregating in Islamabad ahead of Monday’s anti-Khan protests.
On Saturday, supporters of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s party began a “long march” to the capital from the eastern city of Lahore, Sharif’s and his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party’s political stronghold.
For the rallies, special security arrangements have been made, and approximately 13,000 personnel, including paramilitary forces, have been deployed in various parts of the city to prevent clashes.
‘More hype than reality,’ says one.
The PTI was chastised for not allowing media cameras to cover the rally on Sunday, citing security concerns.
“I believe there is more hype than reality [about the number of people], and the PTI does not want that to be exposed,” said local journalist Kamran Yousaf, whose media team was denied entry.
Overnight, a number of stalls were set up outside the parade ground. Among them was 40-year-old vendor Muhammad Imran, who came from the port city of Karachi to sell T-shirts with the words “Absolutely Not” – Khan’s response to the US using Pakistani bases for Afghanistan operations following the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul.
Roads in the city were adorned with colorful banners of various political parties and portraits of Khan, and the city had a festive atmosphere as a number of young activists descended on Islamabad.
“Khan will defeat the looters [opposition groups], and we have come to support him despite his flaws,” a student, Usman Ali, told Al Jazeera.
A few yards away, 18-year-old Muhammad Awais, who was busy selling white chana chaat, a local delicacy, was enraged by Khan’s government.
“We, the poor, have been hard hit by rising food prices and shrinking income,” Awais said.