After Imran Khan withdraws lockdown, opposition leaders call him 'defeated captain' who's 'surrendered'

NEW DELHI: After Pakistan cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan withdrew his lockdown of Islamabad a day before it was scheduled to take place , some opposition leaders called him a "defeated captain" who "surrendered" just like a Pakistani general did in what was East Pakistan in 1971, Dawn reported.

"One more Niazi surrendered in November," said a senior Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Saeed Ghani, referring to the surrender by Pakistani General AK Niazi in East Pakistan in December 1971, after Bangladesh won its war for independence from what was then West Pakistan. Imran's full name is Imran Khan Niazi.
"U-turn Khan" tweeted another PPP leader Aseefa Bhutto-Zardari.

Yesterday evening, Imran withdrew the lockdown of Islamabad planned for today, after Pakistan's Supreme Court (SC) ordered a probe into the Panama papers scandal involving corruption allegations against beleaguered premier Nawaz Sharif and his family. The former Pakistan cricket captain and his Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf (PTI) party had planned their lockdown to protest corruption allegations against Sharif. After the Pakistan SC's order, Imran said he would celebrate today, November 2, as "thanksgiving day" instead.

"A day of humiliation" is what one politician Javed Hashmi, who quit PTI in 2014, called it. He said that politics needed workers and not players and said the PTI chief could not spend one day in prison, implying that Imran was afraid of being jailed if we went ahead with the protest. The government had planned a massive crackdown against the protestors.

"Imran Khan is the biggest supporter of Nawaz Sharif", declared leader of the Pakistani opposition, in the country's National Assembly. Syed Khurshid Shah of the PPP said calling off the demonstration benefited only Prime Minister Sharif.

Imran's ally Tahirul Qadri, of the Awami Muslim League, told a private news channel in Pakistan that he was "shocked" and "had no words."

He said that it was the PTI's right to celebrate a day of thanks, but his party would not participate in it as Mr Khan did not consult him before calling off his protest.

"He [Imran Khan] took all decisions by himself without taking me into confidence," Qadri said.