Former Pakistan PM Khan calls off protest march to avoid creating ‘havoc’

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, in his first public appearance since being wounded in a gun attack earlier this month, said on Saturday he was calling off his protest march to Islamabad because he feared it would cause havoc in the country.
Khan has been holding country-wide protests to push the government for early elections since being ousted from power in April. The protests were to culminate in a march to Islamabad, which threatened to worsen political turmoil in the nuclear-armed country which is battling an economic crisis.
“I have decided not to go to Islamabad because I know there will be havoc and the loss will be to the country,” Khan said while speaking at a gathering of thousands of supporters in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, near the capital Islamabad.
Tight security was in place for Khan’s appearance. A police official told local television channel Geo TV that a total of 10,000 personnel had been deployed for the event, with snipers positioned at various points for his security.