Don't need army's support to overthrow Imran Khan, says Maryam Nawaz

Slamming Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice-President Maryam Nawaz on Saturday reminded the incumbent that his government is "not elected," adding that the opposition does not require army's permission to overthrow the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government.

"First you need to keep this thing in your mind that your government is not elected. Secondly, opposition parties do not need to ask the army to overthrow your government," Maryam said while addressing a PML-N convention in Sukkur (Sindh), as quoted by The Express Tribune.

"...We have the power of people (to remove him)," she added. This statement came a day before the Pakistan Peoples Party-was scheduled to be held at Garhi Khuda Baksh in Larkana on Sunday.

Hitting out at the Imran, Maryam also said that "We told you (Imran Khan) the very first day that you have nothing to do with this fight... this is elders' fight and you are only a puppet."

The anger exhibited by the protestors in recent months in the rallies orgsed by 11-party alliance Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) indicates that many Pakists see the army as the real power behind Imran Khan and the cause for the political and economic woes afflicting the country.

According to political scientist Aqil Shah, the rage of the protestors has caused a shift that could eventually threaten the "military's chokehold on political power."

In a recently published opinion piece in Foreign Affairs Magazine, Shah wrote that "Many Pakists see the army as the real power behind Khan and the cause of the country's political and economic woes. Their anger has occasioned a remarkable shift as major political figures speak out for the first time against the military's dominance of Pakistan--a shift that could eventually threaten the military's chokehold on political power."

PDM has given PTI government until the end of January 2021 to resign, failing which the alliance plans to take hold of Islamabad.

( With inputs from ANI )