Forcing the Government to Resign

Pakistani opposition politician Imran Khan, who is leading one of two large anti-government demonstrations in the capital, has called on followers to show their strength on Sunday as he tries to force the government to resign.

Khan, a former international cricket star whose speech is still peppered with metaphors of the game, told supporters in a late-night Saturday speech, “maybe the world cup final will be played tomorrow … people will forget Tahrir Square”.

The reference to the square, site of Egypt’s most violent anti-government protests, followed a warning by Khan earlier on Saturday that his supporters wanted to march on Parliament house and he was struggling to hold them back.

Khan and cleric Tahir ul-Qadri both led tens of thousands of supporters to downtown Islamabad on Friday. Both protest leaders say they will stay in the streets until Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, whom they condemn as corrupt, is forced to resign.