‘No petrol in any station, no cash in ATMs’: Pakistan's Mohammad Hafeez
On a day Lahore witnessed clashes between supporters of Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and police, former Pakistan cricketer Mohammad Hafeez took to Twitter and slammed the Pakistani establishment over the shortage of fuel and cash, tagging prominent politicians in the country.
Pakistani police fired tear gas, baton-charged and detained supporters of the ousted prime minister to stop them from reaching the capital Islamabad to demand fresh elections.
"No Petrol available in any petrol station in Lahore??? No cash available in ATM machines?? Why a common man have to suffer from political decisions," the former Pakistan all-rounder tweeted and also tagged Khan and current Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif among other politicians.
Political and economic volatility has deepened in the nuclear-armed nation ahead of a likely announcement by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) later in the day on whether it will resume a $6 billion rescue package.
On Saturday, Khan, 69, had asked his supporters to march peacefully to Islamabad on May 25 to press for the dissolution of the National Assembly and fresh elections in the country.
Pakistan’s coalition government-led by Shehbaz Sharif, however, has rejected the demand, saying the government will complete its tenure and the polls would be held next year.
Prime Minister Sharif’s coalition government initially allowed the protest but on Tuesday refused to give permission, fearing violence and lawlessness in the wake of the march.
Khan, ousted in a confidence vote last month after losing his partners in his coalition, has urged supporters to march on Islamabad and stay there until the new government is dissolved and a date for a fresh election is announced.
Islamabad's entry and exit routes have been blocked, as well as all-important sites, including parliament, government offices and diplomatic missions, officials said. Entry and exit points were also blocked to and from all major cities in Punjab province and on the Grand Trunk Road (GTR).
(With inputs from agencies)
Less time to read?
Try Quickreads
-
July 4th parade shooting: Joe Biden pledges to find gunman who killed six
President Joe Biden said he spoke with officials in Illinois after a mass shooting in a suburb of Chicago and pledged federal law enforcement assistance in finding the gunman. Six were killed and dozens injured in an attack on an Independence Day parade in Highland Park, according to the Lake County Sheriff's office. The suspect remained at large as of late afternoon on Monday.
-
Hacker offers to sell stolen records of 1bn China’s citizens
A hacker has claimed to have procured a trove of personal information from the Shanghai police on one billion Chinese citizens, which tech experts say, if true, would be one of the biggest data breaches in history. The anonymous internet user, identified as "ChinaDan", posted on hacker forum Breach Forums last week offering to sell the more than 23 terabytes (TB) of data for 10 bitcoin, equivalent to about $200,000.
-
Rusting Eiffel Tower in need of full repairs, say reports
The Eiffel Tower is riddled with rust and in need of full repairs, but instead it is being given a cosmetic 60 million euro paint job ahead of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, according to confidential reports cited by French magazine Marianne. However confidential reports by experts cited by Marianne suggest the monument is in a poor state and riddled with rust.
-
Shooting at July 4th parade in Chicago suburb, 6 dead, 24 wounded
Gunfire erupted at a Fourth of July parade route in the wealthy Chicago suburb of Highland Park on Monday, the Lake County Sheriff's office said. WGN TV, citing unidentified law enforcement sources, said at least one person was feared dead with multiple injuries. The parade was suddenly halted when shots were fired about 10 minutes after it began, sending hundreds of people running for safety, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
-
Pope denies resignation rumours, hopes to visit Kyiv, Moscow
Pope Francis has dismissed rumours he plans to resign anytime soon, and says that he hopes to visit Moscow and Kyiv after travelling to Canada later this month. Francis also told Reuters in an interview published Monday that the idea “never entered my mind” to announce a planned retirement at the end of the summer, though he repeated he might step down some day as Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI did in 2013.
