WASHINGTON: PTI workers appeared upset but subdued as they protested in different parts of the United States against conviction and arrest of former premier Imran Khan.

About 200 PTI workers gathered at Brookfield Plaza near Washington hours after they heard of Mr Khan’s arrest, chanting slogans against the PDM government and the establishment but making sure that nothing was said against the armed forces.

“We have complaints against some generals, we are not against the army,” said Johnny Bashir, a local party leader while addressing the crowd in Virginia. “They are out brothers.”

This trend was also noticed in Houston, New York and New Jersey where PTI supporters came out in the streets as they heard of their leader’s arrest. “Be ready for a long struggle for the restoration of democracy,” said Shahbaz Gill, a former adviser to Mr Khan, while addressing the crowd in Brookfield Plaza.

‘A step towards instability’

On Sunday, PTI workers received support a former US national security adviser John Bolton who tweeted: “The arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan is one more unnecessary step toward instability and crisis in Pakistan.”

Mr Bolton, who has served in both Bush and Trump administrations, said the people of Pakistan would not benefit from the continuing turmoil. “Instead, ISIS-K and other terrorists will (use) the unrest to their advantage and the disadvantage of Pakistan’s sovereignty, government, and economy,” he warned.

Commenting on his tweet, an American political activist John Norwood reminded Americans that Pakistan was “the world’s largest Islamic democracy. Let’s not lose that.”

Published in Dawn, August 7th, 2023