The road ahead for Imran Khan - back to the streets!

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A large number of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) supporters held a protest rally in Lahore's Liberty Chowk against the ouster of former prime minister and party chairman Imran Khan through a no-confidence motion moved by the Opposition. The charged PTI supporters, including women and children, showed their solidarity with Khan during the rally that started at 9 pm on Sunday and lasted till 3 am on Monday. Big gatherings were also reported from other parts of the Punjab province, including Faisalabad, Multan, Gujranwala, Vehari, Jehlum and Gujrat districts. Islamabad and Karachi also witnessed major gatherings of PTI supporters. Protests broke out in different cities after 9 pm on Sunday and continued for several hours on the call of Khan. Earlier on Sunday, ousted prime minister Khan tweeted that "today marked the beginning of a freedom struggle" against what he said was a "foreign conspiracy of regime change" in Pakistan.

After the political chaos in the country and the days filled with uncertainty, confusion, and surprises, Imran Khan sees himself standing outside the Prime Minister's House again. Imran Khan is the first in Pakistan's history to have been removed from office through no-confidence vote in the parliament. His opposition, he claims, is part of a US-led international conspiracy, for which opposition became party to to oust his government in what is being said to be a deliberate foreign orchestrated regime change, a claim that the UA has categorically rejected and termed baseless.

But it was the opposition's majority vote against Imran Khan in the parliament that pushed him off power, forcing him to address the road ahead and the narrative he would carry with him into the next general election. Imran Khan claims that he has stood against a corrupt team of leaders and parties, who are inclined towards keeping Pakistan in a dependent foreign policy and an even more dependent and compromised sovereignty to western powers, something that he refused to succumb to and opted to an independent foreign policy and standing against the western demands.

Way forward for Imran Khan 

Imran Khan is expected to go back on the streets and reach out to the masses, who, he claims, are the rightful deciders of the country's future. Imran Khan plans to gear up into his anti-government protest mode as he announces a countrywide campaign of anti-government protests, focused on putting pressure on the new rulers including his arch-rivals, the Sharif family, the Zardari/Bhutto family and Fazl Ur Rehman, to be forced into calling for fresh elections countrywide. 

Khan - An expert in protests 

Imran Khan is considered to be an expert in protests and rallies as he attracts massive crowds and enjoys great support among the masses. He staged a 126 days long sit-in just outside the parliament in Islamabad, during the time of Nawaz Sharif's rule, creating immense pressure on the government. The difference this time will be the fact that there is an added narrative that Imran Khan can take to the masses other than corruption of his political leaders. He is geared up to carry the anti-United States, anti-West and pro-independent foreign policy narrative to the masses, showcasing it as the reason behind the alleged international conspiracy of a regime change. He will also be making life difficult for the ruling leadership in the parliament through a strong opposition and consistent demands of holding general elections.

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