Khan leads anti-government protest in Lahore

Dozens of supporters from Khan’s  party gathered at different junctions of the city’s major roads and burnt tyres, forcing the suspension of public transport services.

Khan claims the 2013 general election was rigged and wants Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, whose power base lies in Lahore, to resign.

Local and foreign observers, however, have rated the polls as credible.

A heavy police presence is on the streets to try to prevent violence, following clashes at a similar protest in the city of Faisalabad last week.

“A contingent of 15,000 police personnel have been deployed in the city to avoid any untoward incident,” senior police official Haider Ashraf told AFP.

Khan has vowed to paralyse major cities around the country as part of his efforts to topple Sharif’s government.

A lengthy sit-in protest outside the parliament building in Islamabad in late August and early September led to brief violent clashes and destabilised Sharif’s government.

Khan has warned that he and his supporters will paralyse the country on December 18 if their demands are not met.