Capital march cancelled amid fears of trouble, Khan tells rally

FORMER Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan yesterday said he was calling off his protest march to Islamabad because he feared it would cause havoc, as he made his first public appearance since an assassination attempt.

The former cricketer was defiant as he addressed tens of thousands of supporters outside the capital, telling them to not give up hope that he would return to power, saying “fear makes an entire nation into slaves”.

“I have seen death from up close,” Mr Khan told the crowd after hobbling with a walking frame.

“I’m more worried about the freedom of Pakistan than my life. I will fight for this country until my last drop of blood,” the 70-year-old vowed.

The rally in Rawalpindi was the climax of a so-called “long march” by Mr Khan’s Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party to press the government to call a snap election before parliament’s term expires next October.

Despite being ousted in a no-confidence vote in April, Mr Khan insists he will win if an early vote is called. He survived when a gunman opened fire from close range as his open truck made its way through a crowded street on Nov 3.

Mr Khan repeated accusations that his successor Shehbaz Sharif, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and Maj Gen Faisal Naseer were behind the shooting, saying “three criminals” were planning to make another attempt on his life.

Security was high at the rally. Mr Khan was surrounded by bullet-proof glass and a crush of bodyguards. Most of the crowd was kept hundreds of metres from the stage by a cordon of police and coils of razor wire. Snipers were on rooftops, buildings around the rally site were searched overnight, and mobile phone signals were jammed.