ISLAMABAD -- A radical Pakistani cleric and other opposition leaders have called on their supporters to stop blocking roads in the country's major cities, saying the protest action is harming ordinary people.
Addressing a news conference in Islamabad late on November 19, the opposition leaders also vowed to continue to press for the resignation of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government.
The opposition claims Khan is incompetent and that his government was illegitimately installed by Pakistan's military after a rigged general election in 2018.
Anti-government protests led by Maulana Fazlur Rehman, the leader of the Islamist Jamiat Ulema-e Islam party, began last month with an Azadi (Freedom) March from the southern city of Karachi to Islamabad.
Tens of thousands of supporters reached the capital on October 31 and started a sit-in on the city's main highway, calling for new general elections.
But Rehman on November 13 called off the two-week sit-in and told his supporters to start blocking roads across the country.
Khan came to power last year promising to end corruption, help middle-class families, and get the country's faltering economy on track. But his government was forced to turn to the International Monetary Fund for a $6 billion bailout in July.
The military has ruled Pakistan for almost half of its existence since the country's independence from Britain in 1947.
No Pakistani prime minister has completed a full term in office in 70 years.
Pakistani Opposition Calls Off Road Blockades
Editors' Picks
Afghanistan/Pakistan Trending
1
Why Does Trump Want Afghanistan's Bagram Air Base Returned To US Control?
2Trump Threatens Afghanistan If Bagram Base Not Handed Back To US
3Afghan Women, Girls 'Bear Brunt' Of Earthquake Amid Taliban Restrictions
4Taliban's Internet Ban Threatens Afghan Women's Livelihoods And Education
5Afghan Woman Who Lost All Male Relatives In Earthquake Faces New Barriers
6Afghan Taliban Claims Prisoner Exchange With US Is Imminent
7Trump Says US Is Seeking To 'Get Back' Bagram Base Amid Taliban Rule
8Taliban Rulers Seek Outside Help As Workers Race To Aid Earthquake Victims
9Afghan Children In Pakistan Fear Taliban Schools If Forced Home
10This Afghan Teen Is The Sole Survivor From His Family After Deadly Earthquake
RFE/RL has been declared an "undesirable organization" by the Russian government.
If you are in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine and hold a Russian passport or are a stateless person residing permanently in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine, please note that you could face fines or imprisonment for sharing, liking, commenting on, or saving our content, or for contacting us.
To find out more, click here.