Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Russian Ministry of Defense: 37 Ukrainian drones destroyed in 4 hours over regions of Russia and the Black Sea.
Sheikh Qassem: Our supporters make up more than half of Lebanon's population, and all of these people are united under the banner of protecting Lebanon, its Resistance, its people, and its integrity.
Sheikh Qassem: There will be no phased handing in of our arms. [The Israelis] must first enact the agreement before we start talking about a defensive strategy.
Sheikh Qassem: Be brave in the face of foreign pressures, and we will be by your side in this stance.
Sheikh Qassem: Stripping us of our arms is like stripping us of our very soul, and this will prompt us to show them our might.
Sheikh Qassem: We will not abandon our arms, for they gave us dignity; we will not abandon our arms, for they protect us against our enemy.
Sheikh Qassem: The US efforts we are seeing are aimed at sabotaging Lebanon and constitute a call for sedition.
Sheikh Qassem: If you truly want to establish sovereignty and work for Lebanon’s interests, then stop the aggression.
Sheikh Qassem: The United States, which is meddling in Lebanon, is not trustworthy but rather poses a danger to it.
Sheikh Qassem: The United States is preventing the weapons that protect the homeland.

Imran Khan says Pakistan by-election 'a referendum' on his popularity

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 15 Oct 2022 13:08
  • 1 Shares
3 Min Read

The former PM is running for the majority of seats up for grabs.

  • x
  • Ex-PM Khan.
    Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan. November 19, 2020. REUTERS/Mohammad Ismail/File Photo

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan is running for seven of the eight national assembly seats up for grabs in a key by-election on Sunday, which he calls a "referendum" on his popularity.

The by-election is the latest twist in the political saga that began with Khan's ouster via a parliamentary no-confidence vote on April 10.

It comes as the country deals with the aftermath of devastating monsoon floods that affected more than 30 million people and submerged one-third of the country.

Candidates in Pakistan elections can run for multiple seats. If they win more than one, they must choose which to keep, and those forfeited must be voted on separately later.

Read next: Contempt case against ex-PM Khan dropped

It is unusual for a candidate to run for as many seats as Khan is doing on Sunday. "This is not just a simple election, it's a referendum," he told a rally late Friday in Karachi, the bustling port city in the south of the nation of 220 million.

Khan has held dozens of rallies since his ouster, drawing tens of thousands of people, and has promised to announce the date of a "long march" of his supporters on the capital, Islamabad, soon.

Related News

Imran Khan supporters, MPs detained on 2nd jail anniversary

Imran Khan, wife sentenced to 14 years in alleged land corruption case

#ShehbazSharif, #ImranKhan's successor, has a remarkable history of corruption along with his family.

Does Sharif's election confirm the ex-PM's claims of #US meddling in #Pakistan's internal affairs? pic.twitter.com/W7TeR4nVCQ

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) April 11, 2022

He is demanding that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's coalition government call an immediate general election rather than waiting until October of next year. "If he wins most of the seats, he will press the government more," political analyst Hassan Askari Rizvi told AFP.

"But the government will reject the election call, claiming it doesn't reflect the national will."

Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party has already won a string of recent by-election victories, including control of the state assembly in Punjab, the country's most populous province, in July.

Read next: Imran Khan demands immediate parliamentary elections

Sunday's polls take place in eight constituencies of three provinces –- three each in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where Khan’s party holds sway, and two in Sindh.

"This is indeed a litmus test of his popularity provided elections are held in a free and fair atmosphere and they are not rigged," said Imtiaz Gul of the Center for Research and Security Studies in Islamabad.

"If he wins the majority of the seats, that will again be a testimony to the success of his narrative that he has built since his exit from power and that will obviously bring more pressure on the government."

  • Imran Khan
  • Pakistan
  • Shehbaz Sharif

Most Read

Tom Artiom Alexandrovich, executive director of the defense division of the Israeli National Cyber Directorate, undated (Social media)

Israeli-born US prosecutor drops Israeli officer child sex crime

  • Politics
  • 19 Aug 2025
Almost instantly after the Helsinki Accords were signed, organisations sprouted to document purported violations, whose findings were fed to overseas embassies for international amplification. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Zeinab el-Hajj)

How ‘Human Rights’ became a Western weapon

  • Opinion
  • 23 Aug 2025
Israeli soldiers stand on the top of armoured vehicles parked on an area near the Israeli-Gaza border, as seen from southern Israel, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025 (AP)

Palestinian fighters target Israeli soldiers, vehicles in Gaza

  • Politics
  • 21 Aug 2025
Launch of a ballistic missile from Yemen toward the occupied Palestinian territories. (YAF military media)

Yemeni Forces announce firing hypersonic missile at Al-Lydd Airport

  • Politics
  • 22 Aug 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference at the Prime minister's office in al-Quds, Occupied Palestine, Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Netanyahu deliberately derailing truce with Gaza occupation: Hamas

Irish President Michael Higgins arrives to deliver his speech during a 42nd World Food Day celebration at FAO headquarters in Rome, on Oct. 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Politics

Irish president renews call for UN military intervention in Gaza

US Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at the US Embassy in Aukar, northern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, July 21, 2025 (AP)
Politics

US envoy, Netanyahu discuss restraining attacks on Lebanon, withdrawal

Smoke billows following Israeli airstrikes in multiple areas in Sanaa, Yemen, Sunday, Aug. 24, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Ansar Allah vow sustained Gaza support despite Israeli strikes

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS