Thousands of his supporters have arrived in the capital from different cities in special trains arranged by the government on Sunday for the rally at Parade Ground.
Thousands of Imran’s supporters are coming in trains, public vehicles and private cars to attend the “historic” rally of the ruling party.
“Today is a battle for Pakistan … and not for PTI; it’s a battle for the future of our nation,” Imran said, a statement aimed at lifting the morales of his Tehreek-i-Insaf cadre.
The call for the rally was given by prime minister Khan as he has been trying to present his fight against a “group of crooked opposition leaders”, but still many believe that gathering could be his swansong due to the odds of no-confidence heavily decked against him.
His government has survived on a wafer-thin majority, with support from several smaller allies.
Cracks in alliance, PTI hit by desertions
Imran is up against the combined might of Pakistan’s main opposition parties- PPP and PML(N). To make matters worse, a series of desertions by allies and defections from his Tehreek-e-Insaaf party have further dented his chances of survival when the no-confidence motion is taken up in Pakistan parliament.
24 lawmakers of Imran’s PTI party have openly vowed to vote against his government.
On Wednesday, as many as three PTI allies- MQM-P, PML-Q and BAP broke ranks to join the opposition. However Imran and his ministers are trying to give the impression that everything was fine and he would come out victorious out of the trial.
The combined opposition front, christened PDM (Pakistan Democratic Movement) has been targeting the government over a host of ‘anti-people’ policies like hike in oil and power tariffs, high inflation and corruption.
It has hit the streets with ‘long marches’ that drew huge crowds, indicative of Imran’s waning popularity.
It is not just Imran’s rally that is raising the political temperatures in Islamabad.
An equally-charged political event will be held in the city on Monday by the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), an alliance of the Opposition parties.
The PDM comprising the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) retaliated to hold their power show a day later that will coincide with the National Assembly session when the no-confidence motion is set to be formally moved in the house.
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl supporters have started moving under the supervision of local leaders.
They are mainly coming from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan where the party has a lot of support. Some of them have already reached Hakla Interchange near Islamabad.
Another big protest march led by PML-N vice presidents Maryam Nawaz and her cousin Hamza Shehbaz, who is the son of Shehbaz Sharif, started from Lahore on Saturday. Travelling on the historic GT Road, they are scheduled to reach Islamabad on Monday to attend the opposition rally.
(With inpurs from PTI)Watch Will no-confidence vote send Imran Khan back to the pavilion?