Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has launched a nationwide protest against alleged ballot-rigging.
Videos shared on social media from the capital Islamabad show that hundreds of protestors took to the streets on Saturday, raising slogans against the newly formed government.
The Islamabad police, in a series of posts on social media, said that a Section 144 order was in force in Islamabad and special forces of the Counter Terrorism Department had been deployed on patrol to deal with any emergency.
"The police in the federal capital have warned the public to avoid any 'illegal activity' as it reminded them that section 144 was in force in Islamabad. The measure prevents gatherings and is coinciding with PTI's protest call over what they say are rigged elections," Islamabad police said in a post on X (formerly known as Twitter).
Meanwhile, videos of protest marches also emerged from different regions including South Waziristan, Punjab and Faisalabad.
PTI's X account posted a video of what it said were marchers who had responded to Imran Khan's call for a protest.
Meanwhile, the PTI has said that its leader, advocate Salman Akram Raja, who contested the polls as an independent candidate backed by the party in Lahore’s NA-128 constituency, had been arrested in Lahore while protesting against election-rigging.
Currently, Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) has declared it will form a coalition government in the country along with Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari's Pakistan People's Party (PPP), along with four other parties: the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), the Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid-i-Azam) [PML(Q)], the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) and the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP).
Meanwhile, the PTI criticized the coalition, denouncing them as "mandate thieves" as Khan's party emerged with the largest number of seats — but it failed to touch majority mark.