Pakistani cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan's party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was barred by a court on Monday from holding street rallies in Islamabad on November 2. The party has been given permission to hold a protest at a park in the city.
PTI has been demanding Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's resignation ever since his family members were named in the Panama Papers scandal.
Over the weekend, many PTI members were taken into custody by the police. Khan's attorney Babar Awan has said that they will appeal the court's order.
"Nawaz is following Modi's interests in Pakistan. Nawaz is behind the security leaks story which defamed the armed forces. Actually, his and Modi's agenda is same," Khan said on Sunday.
"When Nawaz Sharif went to London for whatever kind of surgery. He first telephoned Modi the hospital bed instead of his mother or children. The whole state machinery is being used to save a corrupt Prime Minister. I will not accept a suspect as Prime Minister of Pakistan," Khan added.
Around 1,000 PTI members have been taken into custody and roads leading to the city have been blocked to stop supporters from other provinces. "I want all PTI workers to make it to Bani Gala tomorrow," Khan tweeted on Sunday.
Khan has further criticised the crackdown on PTI workers by the police force. "Under what law are the fed government and the Punjab government arresting our unarmed workers including from their homes? Shameful authoritarianism," he added.
Comparing his movement to the current unrest in South Korea's Seoul, where the president has been asked to step down, the PTI chief tweeted, "In Seoul despite lockdown of city no containers or police brutality. Difference between democracy and badshahat."
