‘Resign in 48 hours!’

The protesters waved black-and-white striped JUI-F flags and chanted slogans as a series of opposition figures and Islamist leaders spoke.

ISLAMABAD (AFP) — Tens of thousands of Islamists rallied alongside opposition supporters in Pakistan’s capital Friday, as the firebrand cleric leading the protests called on Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government to step down within 48 hours.

The so-called “Freedom March” is being led by Khan’s long-time rival Maulana Fazlur Rehman, who heads one of the country’s largest Islamist parties, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F).

As the first day of demonstrations stretched into the night Rehman focused his ire on the country’s powerful military, which he and other opposition figures have accused of helping the former cricket star win last year’s election.

“They have not come to power on the public’s mandate but on someone else’s direction… they won’t work for the public rather they will only please their selectors,” Rehman told his supporters from a makeshift stage, referring to the military.

The first day of the protest remained peaceful even as some in the crowd called for moving the rally closer to parliament, just hours after several marches from across Pakistan converged on Islamabad.

“This is a peaceful rally and we are peaceful people, therefore we want to stay peaceful otherwise this (crowd) has the strength to go to the prime minister’s office and arrest him,” said Rehman. “You have two days to resign,” he added.

Earlier in the day security forces blocked the main entry points to the city with shipping containers but protesters streamed into the capital, with more than 20,000 gathering for Friday prayers, according to an AFP reporter.