Pakistani opposition organizes "black day" against Prime Minister Khan | Pakistan News

Islamabad, Pakistan – Thousands of opposition supporters have rallied in Pakistan's big cities to mark a "black day" of protests against Prime Minister Imran Khan's government, as opposition parties in the country intensify their efforts to mobilize protests against his Pakistani party Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party.

Gatherings took place on Thursday in Karachi, Peshawar, Lahore, Quetta and the capital, Islamabad, mainly attended by leaders of the Pakistani Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the political party Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl ( JUI-F) evenings.

"If this false government, which stole votes to come into power, push it definitely, if … we must go to Islamabad against them, will Baluchistan join us?" asked Maryam Nawaz, leader of the PML-N, at a gathering of thousands of people in Quetta, in the south-west of the country.

Nawaz is the daughter of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who was removed from office by the Supreme Court in 2017 and sentenced for corruption a year later.

Nawaz was also convicted in a corruption case, but her sentence was suspended pending the hearing of her appeal.

Since last year, Nawaz and his party have run a series of public demonstrations, alleging election fraud in the 2018 polls that saw Khan win power. Thursday was exactly one year since the elections.

Since taking office, Khan's PTI has led an anti-corruption campaign, arresting several opposition figures, including Nawaz Sharif, his brother Shehbaz, former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi ;other.

Farzana Kausar, 40, a member of the PML-N party, accused the Khan's government of being attacked by the political opposition as part of an anti-corruption campaign. [Asad Hashim/Al Jazeera]

Other opposition parties have also witnessed arrests. The leader of the Pakistan People's Party and former president Asif Ali Zardari has also been imprisoned for corruption.

The opposition claims that the anti-corruption campaign was launched selectively to target the political opposition. Khan's ITP says they are cleaning up Pakistan's political system.

"We must transform all the institutions that were destroyed by thieves who only want to loot Pakistan," Khan said Thursday, addressing his supporters on his return to the country after a three-day visit to the United States. United.

Media failure

Some of the opposition's protests were broadcast live by Pakistan's national television channels, but the protest by PML-N leader Nawaz was notably overshadowed by a decision of the president of the PML-N, Nawaz. Federal government earlier this month to ban coverage of political leaders of the opposition being investigated for corruption.

Rights groups have warned against "shameless censorship" in Pakistan, especially against critical coverage of the ruling party or opposition events.

Supporters of the opposition party JUI-F chants slogans during an anti-government demonstration in Islamabad, the capital [Asad Hashim/Al Jazeera]

In Lahore, the second largest city in the country, Shehbaz Sharif of the PML-N was to address a crowd of PML-N supporters, while thousands of people had gathered in the city of Peshawar, in the north-west of the country, for another demonstration.

In the capital, Thursday's protest appeared to be sparsely attended, with several hundred supporters of the PML-N and JUI-F, a right-wing religious party, gathering in front of the press club of the city ​​to register their protest.

"The elections were not fair and Imran Khan was imposed on us," said Farzana Kausar, a 40-year-old PML-N worker. "We do not accept it."

Asad Hashim is the digital correspondent of Al Jazeera in Pakistan. He tweets @AsadHashim.