Imran Khan Niazi

PM Imran Khan faced a no-confidence motion 09 April 2022. To depose Prime Minister Khan, the opposition parties will require 172 votes out of 342 in the National Assembly. The no-confidence motion was passed against PM Imran Khan after 174 votes were polled in favor of it, with none against. Khan became the country's first prime minister to be ousted in a no-confidence motion. No prime mister had ever served a full term in Pakistan, but Khan is the first to lose office this way.

Opposition parties blamed Khan’s government for soaring inflation, while Khan said that opposition leaders were trying to get rid of him because he did not want to put up with their alleged corruption.

It was not immediately clear when a new premier will be chosen, but Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) chief Shehbaz Sharif was almost certain to be picked to lead the nuclear-armed nation of 220 million people.

Bilawal Bhutto and Shahbaz Sharif spoke after the motion passed. "Welcome back to purana Pakistan", said Bilawal Bhutto [ purana; literally meaning "ancient, old"]. Shahbaz Sharif said, "We will not take revenge from anyone. We won't do injustice to anyone but law will take its own course." A request was put in Islamabad High Court to put Imran Khan, Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Fawad Chaudhary to be put on Exit Control List.

PML-N leader Maryam Nawaz Sharif called PM Imran Khan a "psychopath", saying that that Imran wanted to "just to save his own skin is holding the entire country hostage." Maryam Nawaz Sharif added "One person who is not in his senses anymore cannot be allowed to wreak havoc & bring the entire country down".

In Parliament, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, pointing at Imran's absence in the parliament, said the captain has run away as he is not capable to defend himself. "This fight is not between PDM and PTI but its fight between supporters of democracy and who want to destroy the democracy. The reality is that Imran Khan is afraid of free and fair elections," Bilawal continued. Rumours were rife that Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari may get appointed as the Minister of Foreign Affairs when the new government, which will be composed of the present Opposition, takes charge.

Shortly before the vote, the speaker of the National Assembly (lower house of Pakistan’s parliament), Asad Qaiser, resigned, explaining that “he cannot participate in a foreign conspiracy to remove Khan.” Khan had said earlier that "foreign powers" [ie, the United States] were behind the motion to depose him, apparently due to the foreign policy they do not “approve of”, such as Pakistan's ties with Russia and China and its stance in the UN. Local media had reported that Pakistani intelligence had uncovered a plot to assassinate Khan. Earlier, the president of the ruling party Tehreek-e-Insaf claimed that Khan was being targeted in a conspiracy for his refusal to “sell” the country.

Former cricketer Imran Khan Niazi is a Pakistani politician who founded the Pakistan Tehreek e insaf (PTI). He is the finest cricketer Pakistan has ever produced, who is among the finest all-rounders and greatest fast bowlers the game has ever seen.

The legislator and humanitarian led the Pakistan Movement of Justice as a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan. Before entering into politics, he played worldwide cricket for twenty years. Khan's personal popularity as a former cricket star endears him to many Pakistanis and he is media-savvy, but at first he enjoyed far more support by expats than by actual voters. Over the years, he built a reputation for personal probity that is all too rare in South Asian politics.

Khan's PTI party was effectively a one-man show. His credibility rested with his self-created role as the politician who sticks to his principles, and he was popular with the Pakistani intelligentsia and elements of the disaspora. But Khan was initially unable to turn his starring role as the captain of Pakistan's only team to win the international cricket championship into an effective political party.

His government was only able to win a majority in the lower house, the National Assembly, after a host of politicians known for jumping onto the winning ship joined PTI before the election. These lawmakers are the so-called “electables,” politicians belonging to land-owning families or tribes who hold sway over their constituencies. “Electables are the landlords and spiritual leaders with a massive following, and they have been winning votes to get into parliament since before 1947,” when Pakistan gained independence from the British colonial rule.

In Pakistani politics, tribal and sectarian affiliations matter a lot. People vote for prominent people from their own communities.” In the local lingo, electables are referred to as “lotas.” A lota is the water pot with a narrow funnel that South Asians use in toilets to maintain hygiene. Electables are part of a rural phenomenon where fraternal ties and tribal affiliations matter a lot. When people vote for someone from their own community, they expect benefits in return.

Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi was born in Mianwali, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan on Nov 25, 1952 [some sources claim October 5, 1952 ] to Ikramullah Khan Niazi Shermankhel and Shaukat Khanum (Burki). A quiet and shy boy in his youth, Khan grew up in a family with four sisters, he being the only son of his parents. His father, Ikramullah Khan Niazi was a civil engineer. Khan's father descended from the Pashtun (Pathan) Niazi tribe of the Shermankhel clan, his family is settled in Lahore, however, he still considers his background Pathan as per his autobiography (Warrior Race: A Journey Through the Land of the Tribal Pathans). Imran Khan was a silent and reserved boy in his early life. He has four sisters, Rubina Khanum, Aleema Khanum, Uzma Khanum and Rani Khanum.

His mother’s name was Shaukat Khanum. His mother was from the Pashtun ethnic group of Burki, which had delivered a few fruitful cricketers in Pakistan’s olden times. He and his mother, Shaukat Khanum, come from a cricketing family, which also includes successful hockey players – the Burkis, with two of his maternal cousins, Javed Burki and Majid Khan, also having played Test cricket for Pakistan.

His family was wealthy, so he acquired an advantaged schooling. He studied at Aitchison College in Lahore and the Royal Grammar School Worcester in England, where he was proficient at cricket. He joined Keble College, Oxford in the year 1972. He studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics there and was graduated in the year 1975.

He began playing cricket at the age of 13, playing for his school and later for the Worcestershire Cricket Club. He debuted for Pakistan at 18 years old amid the 1971 English series at Birmingham. After completing his studies at Oxford, he became a member of Pakistan’s national cricket group in 1976 and played till 1992. He served as the captain of the team alternatingly all through 1982–1992. He managed Pakistan to success at the 1992 Cricket World Cup remarkably, it was Pakistan’s one and only victory in that series. He resigned from cricket in 1992 as one of Pakistan’s most prosperous cricketers. He finished 3,807 runs and took 362 wickets in total in Test cricket. He is one of the eight world cricketers to accomplish ‘All-rounder’s Triple’ label in Test matches. He was initiated into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in the year 2010.

In 1991, he propelled a fundraising movement to arrange a cancer hospital in commemoration of his mother. He elevated $25 million to establish the first hospital in Lahore in 1994. He later set up another hospital in Peshawar in the year 2015. Imran Khan is a noticeable humanitarian and commenter, and worked as the leader of Bradford University from 2005 till 2014 and was the receiver of a nominal partnership by the Royal College of Physicians in 2012.

Imran Khan lives in his farmhouse at Bani Gala in the hills overlooking Rawal Lake on the outskirts of Islamabad. The immaculate lawn of Khan's sizeable home is set against the backdrop of the foothills of the Himalayas. In November 2009, he experienced emergency operation at Lahore’s Shaukat Khanum Cancer Hospital to eliminate an obstacle in his small intestine.

On May 16 1995, Imran Khan wedded Jemima Goldsmith, in a ceremonial conducted in Urdu in Paris. After a month, on 21 June 1995, they re-married at the Richmond registry office in England. Jemima changed over to Islam. The couple has two children, Sulaiman Isa and Kasim. On 22 June 2004, it was reported that the pair had separated, concluding the relation in divorce for the reason that it was tough for Jemima to adjust to life in Pakistan. It is also strongly rumored that Imran Khan has a daughter.

In January 2015, Imran Khan wedded a British Pakistani press officer Reham Khan in a secretive Nikah ceremony at his residence in Islamabad. However this marriage also did not work and on 22 October 2015 they declared their intent to file for divorce. In 2018, Imran Khan married his spiritual guide Bushra Manika and this shortly became a piece of controversy.

Imran is also among a number of actors, artists, singers and sports figures who donate their talents to advocate for children on behalf of UNICEF as Special Representatives. He used his international profile in cricket to support health and immunisation programmes in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

In April 1996, he established the Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI), a moderate political party, and became the party’s state spearhead. In 1997, Imran Khan lost the elections from Mianwali. In this instance his chances for victory appeared good until the Chaudhrys (now members of the PML (Q)) began supporting Ubaidullah Shadi Khel, Imran Khan's opponent. Imran Khan unleashed a vitriolic campaign against Chaudhry Shujaat Husain and Chaudhry Pervez Elahi, alleging the two leaders had got their loans written off and were therefore ineligible to contest elections. The Chaudhrys soon retaliated and accused Imran Khan of using charity for Shaukat Khanum Hospital and Jewish money to fund his campaign.

He encouraged General Pervez Musharraf’s martial revolution in 1999, having faith in that Musharraf would finish exploitation and fraud, cleanup the governmental gangs. As indicated by Imran Khan, he was Musharraf’s preference for prime minister in 2002 however turned down the suggestion. Later he was in opposition to former President Pervez Musharraf's government and then in opposition to President Asif Ali Zardari's government. He stated that he had initially supported Musharraf because Musharraf had promised to bring "real democracy" to Pakistan. However, in the end, "Musharraf took us all for a ride." He stated that Musharraf was initially popular with the people because they were fed up with former Prime Ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, but he lamented that Musharraf ended up bringing back into his government the same individuals who had served under Benazir and Nawaz.

Imran Khan challenged for a seat from Mianwali in the National Assembly in October 2002 and worked as an opposition participant from Mianwali till 2007. He was again chosen to the parliament in the 2013 races, while his party developed as the second leading party in the republic by general poll. He worked as the governmental spearhead of the party, therefore supervising the third biggest block of members of parliament in the National Assembly since 2013. He has also functioned as a part of the Standing Committees on Kashmir and Public Accounts.

On 21 April 2013, Khan declared that he would haul Pakistan out of the conflict commanded by United States on fear and convey peace to the Pashtun ethnic belt. He spoke at various public gatherings in Malakand, Lower Dir District, Upper Dir District and further cities of Pakistan where he declared that PTI will host a uniform schooling arrangement in which the youngsters of wealthy and deprived will have equivalent opportunities and rights. He concluded his south Punjab movement by marches at Bahawalpur, Khanpur, Sadiqabad, Rahim Yar Khan and Rajanpur. PTI is considered to be a party of liberals in Paksitan but a recent comment by Imran Khan on the liberal community has made everyone question that.

Pakistan’s 2013 elections were carried out on 11 May 2013 all over the republic. The elections brought about a strong bulk of Pakistan Muslim League votes. Imran Khan’s party PTI gained 30 straightly voted governmental seats. Imran Khan’s major opposition is PML-N and the Sharifs. Both PTI and PML-N continue to debate and their supporters back them in all ways. Maryam Nawaz Sharif continues to speak against Imran.

Khan had cautioned the U.S. against giving the impression that it is supporting a puppet government in Pakistan, which will only further alienate the people, he added. Khan claimed that evidence of this alienation can be found in the fact that after eight years of U.S. support to Pakistan, 80 percent of Pakistanis believe the U.S. is a greater threat to Pakistan than India is. He insisted the U.S. should always bank on supporting democracy in Pakistan because, ultimately, whatever government comes to power will "want to play ball with the U.S.," as long as it is "sovereign and trustworthy."

Khan advised that the USG should use local tribes to deal with Taliban and other militant forces. He said that, in order to be able to work with tribesmen, we have to understand the "tribal character," which, he said, is primarily marked by hospitality and revenge. He denounced the use of aerial bombings and drone operations, arguing that they have created animosity and caused local tribesmen to join militant forces in order to seek revenge.

His reluctance to condemn Islamist militants long ago earned Khan the moniker Taliban Khan. He is also an outspoken supporter of Pakistan’s harsh blasphemy laws.

In September 2020, nine major opposition parties formed the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) to launch a nationwide protest movement to unseat Prime Minister Khan. They agreed to a series of demonstrations planned to increase pressure on Khan, who came to power in 2018 promising to rid Pakistan of corruption. The parties plan to end the campaign with a march on Islamabad, the capital, in 2021. The civilian political class in Pakistan increasingly saw the military as an opponent not only in matters of political governance but also of the economy. The military is not only involved in politics, it also has huge stakes in Pakistan's economic affairs. To protect these interests, it has captured the state.

A rally 16 October 2020 openly targeted the military, with former PM Sharif accusing incumbent army chief Bajwa of interfering in politics. Such direct criticism against the powerful generals was unthinkable a few years ago. "General Qamar Javed Bajwa, you packed up our government, which was working well, and put the nation and the country at the altar of your wishes," former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif told his supporters at a massive opposition rally in Gujranwala city. "General Bajwa is responsible for rigging the 2018 elections, curbs on the media, abduction of journalists and forcing judges to give decisions of his choice," he added.

It is common for opposition leaders in Pakistan to criticize the incumbent government; it is, however, quite extraordinary that they confront the powerful military, which is considered a "holy cow" in the South Asian country, in such a direct manner. But Sharif, a three-time former prime minister, who is currently in London for medical treatment, believes that Pakistan's main problem is the military's "unconstitutional" role in politics. Therefore, he is not holding Prime Minister Imran Khan responsible for the multiple crises wracking Pakistan. Instead, Sharif is blaming those who "brought him (Khan) to power."

By early 2022 Kahn looked back on a very tumultuous four years in power, skyrocketing inflation (one of the highest in 70 years of the country), the only negative GDP growth being recorded since 1952 and a series of scandals ranging from wheat, sugar, fertilizer and other basic commodities. A majority of Pakistanis had a favorable opinion of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s individual performance after his first nine months in power, according to a May 2019 poll conducted by Gallup Pakistan. But by 2022 Imran Khan's approval rating was 36 percent. Nawaz Sharif had a popularity rating of a mere 28 percent in December 2018 which now stood at almost 55 percent; a similar rise has been seen for Shahbaz Sharif (from 34 percent to 51 percent).

Having managed to barely escape the worst of COVID-19 pandemic, Pakistan’s economy was in the doldrums due to inflation, plunging currency and soaring debt. Citing the economic crisis and poor governance, the opposition filed a no-confidence motion against Khan, who also seemed to have lost the backing of the military establishment which brought him to power.

Former president Asif Ali Zardari and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari met PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif and Maryam in early February 2022 in Lahore and agreed to leave their differences behind for a common cause — sending Prime Minister Imran Khan home — and pledged to weigh all options to achieve the goal, including a no-confidence move and a joint long march. The PML-N leader said it was too early to talk about Imran Khan's successor. "First we have to reach the stage of tabling a no-confidence motion, then a consensual decision on the next premier would have to be taken," she added.

The opposition had come to the conclusion that the military establishment had finally and irrevocably withdrawn into the shadows and will not any longer prop up a hugely unpopular government which has discredited the military establishment for supporting it. If the army was “neutral”, ie, if it would not bail out the government when the opposition storms the National Assembly in days to come, then the government’s allies will flock to the opposition’s camp and a vote of no-confidence will succeed in ousting the PTI regime and opening the way for fresh elections.

A no-confidence motion was tabled in the country's Parliament by the opposition party, leaving Khan looking for ways to cling to power. Around 100 lawmakers from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) submitted it before the National Assembly Secretariat on 08 March 2022. The lawmakers alleged that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) government led by Khan was responsible for the economic crisis and the spiralling inflation in the country.

Nearly two dozen lawmakers from Khan's ruling party have openly threatened to vote against him on the no-confidence motion. Pakistan-based The Express Tribune reported that several MNAs, who are taking refuge at the Sindh House in the federal capital, have stated that they have parted ways with the ruling party. They further said that they would not contest the next elections on a PTI ticket. As per the media outlet, PTI's Ramesh Kumar claimed that 33 members of the Assembly, including three federal ministers, had left the ruling party and the Prime Minister should immediately resign now.

Reports suggested that the National Assembly session for the move was expected to be convened on March 21 and the voting is likely to be held on March 28.

On one side are arrayed the two Bhutto-Zardaris, the two Sharifs, three ex-Prime Ministers Yousaf Raza Gillani, Raja Pervez Ashraf and Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, and the good Maulana. On the other, the arrogant Imran Khan is personally hustling the Allies, notably the Gujrat Chaudhries, and bending the knee to COAS General Qamar Javed Bajwa in a last-ditch attempt to clutch at the Miltablishment’s coattails and survive.

The fissures between Imran Khan and the Army establishment became visible when the former in his profanity-laced speech on March 11 had rebuffed Army Chief Bajwa's advice to not use derogatory remarks against Opposition leaders. "I was just talking to Gen Bajwa (Chief of Pakistani Army) and he told me not to refer to Fazl as 'diesel'. But I am not the one who is saying that. The people have named him diesel," Khan reportedly said referring toJUI-F leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman.

There were unmistakable signs of increasing tears on the “same page” posture, notably in sharp differences of opinion between Imran Khan and the Miltablishment on conduct of national security policies, foreign affairs, economic management and one sided “accountability”, that proved to be embarrassing for the Military establishment by association with him.

The Pakistan Army's top brass, led by General Qamar Javed Bajwa, reportedly asked Prime Minister Imran Khan to resign after the Council of Foreign Ministers of OIC member states is being held on 22-23 March 2022 in Islamabad. Pakistani media reports stated that the decision to oust Imran Khan was taken by General Bajwa and three other senior lieutenants generals in a meeting that took place after Bajwa and the country's spymaster, Lieutenant General Nadeem Anjum, met Imran Khan. It was reported that all four military leaders decided not to give any escape routes to Imran Khan. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), incidentally, was hoping that its trump card of former Army Chief Raheel Sharif's meeting Bajwa at the behest of Imran Khan will save the government. However, Raheel Sharif also failed in his mission, as noted by the local media in its reports.

Amid the looming no-confidence motion against his government, Imran Khan met Army Chief Bajwa on 18 March 2022. The meeting was seen as an attempt by Imran Khan to get back in the good books of the Pakistani establishment, which is the Pakistani Army, to save his government. Now when the public mood is rabidly anti-PTI, as every survey of public opinion shows, the Pakistani Army simply can’t afford to be seen to embrace Khan.

Opposition demonstrated an absolute majority of over 172 MNA votes to clinch a successful vote of no confidence against Imran Khan’s PTI government. The PTI’s erstwhile allies led by the PMLQ and MQM are visibly stitching up last minute details before formally joining the swelling ranks against Imran Khan. The Opposition should be able to field at least 200 votes, leaving the PTI gasping with less than 140. The central fact is that widespread popular alienation from Imran Khan’s policies has made it impossible for them to win an election on a PTI ticket. So they are scrambling to get a berth on a winning platform.

The Opposition decided to focus on ousting Imran Khan and postponed “other” thorny issues till after a successful vote of no-confidence. These “other” issues include who will be the new Leader of the House or prime minister, what will be the composition of the new government, for how long will this government last, what steps it will take to order and ensure free and fair elections and whether or not all or some provincial assemblies will also be dissolved and national and provincial elections will be held simultaneously as in the past.

Imran Khan issued a bizarre warning to the party members who are planning to go against him in the no-confidence vote. During a public rally on 20 March 2022 in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Khan said, "Your children and families would lose respect and honour in society. No one will marry your children." He added "People will neither trust you nor respect you. Masses are aware of the situation and what is happening in the country. This is the age of social media. It's difficult to hide anything from them".

The decision by Pakistan’s parliamentary speaker to block the no-confidence vote in parliament against Prime Minister Imran Khan, and the subsequent dissolution of the National Assembly, has triggered a constitutional crisis as the opposition plans to appeal against the moves at the Supreme Court. The National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser ruled that the no-confidence motion violated Article 5 of the Constitution, which calls for loyalty to the state and constitution.

Imran Khan is officially no longer the prime minister of Pakistan, according to the circular issued by the Pakistan government. "Consequent upon the dissolution of Pakistan Assembly by the President of Pakistan in terms of Article 58(1) read with Article 48(1) of the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan vide Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, dated 3rd April 2022, Mr Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi ceased to hold the office of the Prime Minister of Pakistan, with immediate effect," the government statement read.

The decision came hours after President Arif Alvi dissolved the National Assembly on Khan's advice. The move came after the rejection of no-confidence motion against Imran Khan government by deputy Speaker Qasim Suri. The dissolution of the Assembly means that the elections will be held within three months to elect the next government. In the history of Pakistan's politics, no prime minister has completed a full term.

Salahuddin Ahmed – Supreme Court lawyer and constitutional expert, said “I think the act of the speaker is clearly unconstitutional. His job is to count the votes, not to decide whether any of the opposition members is some part of a foreign conspiracy. He cannot just throw out a motion of no-confidence. Normally, the speaker’s rulings are granted immunity from judicial scrutiny, but in case – where it’s beyond the jurisdiction of the speaker – the courts can intervene. And in this case, they probably will. I don’t recall any elected civilian government in the past making such a brazenly unconstitutional move. What has effectively happened today is that the Pakistan Tahreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party has replaced the will of the parliament with the whim of the speaker.”

Benazir Shah – Senior journalist, said “Pakistan seems to be in the grip of instability and a constitutional crisis. What is dangerous is that the government itself, which is tasked to protect and implement the constitution and law, is comfortable violating the constitution to stay in power. There was a fear, a few days before the vote, that the ruling party will use unconstitutional means to avoid the vote of no trust. As earlier the interior minister had suggested banning political parties or asking the Pakistan military to intervene. The message from PTI seemed to be: if we can’t rule, no one can.”

Pakistan’s Supreme Court said 07 April 2022 that Prime Minister Imran Khan’s move to dissolve parliament was illegal and ordered the house be restored. The decision came after four days of hearings by the top court. Khan will now face a no-confidence vote by lawmakers that he had tried to sidestep. The assembly will likely convene to vote on Saturday 09 April 2022.

If Khan lost that vote, which he would be expected to, the opposition could nominate its own prime minister and hold power until August 2023, by which date fresh elections have to be held. The opposition has also said it wants early elections, but only after delivering a political defeat to Khan and passing legislation it says is required to ensure the next polls are free and fair. They allege the 2018 polls, which Khan won, were not. He denied any wrongdoing.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan was deposed by a no-confidence vote in parliament, days after he blocked a similar attempt. The passing of the motion on 09 April 2022 came after the country’s Supreme Court ruled the cricket star turned politician acted unconstitutionally in previously blocking the process and dissolving parliament.

Imran Khan, the Pakistan cricket star who became prime minister, ascended to power in 2018 with great fanfare and promises of making his country a land of opportunity. Khan’s celebrity status and crusade against corruption helped him win support across the country’s political divide. Though some supporters still believed Khan will make a comeback and laud the successes of his tenure, the legacy of his premiership tells a different story – a shattered economy and a polarised society.

When Khan came to power in 2018, he was riding on a wave that promised “change”. But his inflexible attitude towards the opposition created a deadlock that topped the list of his failures of governance. Khan appeared to lack an understating of how parliamentary democracy works. Khan was still popular among Pakistan’s youth, and if he managed to sell supporters on his “anti-American sentiment”, he could bounce back with even more popularity and power.

The cricket star’s rise to power and spectacular fall was “a journey of hope turned into despair”, said Akbar S Babar, a former founding member of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party. “The PTI was hijacked by its own captain, a phenomenon unheard of in politics. He chose the path of power at any cost. Today, he is groping in the dark to save himself and the party,” Babar told Al Jazeera.

A blasphemy case was registered against former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan in late April 2022, drawing sharp condemnation from his supporters and stoking concerns that the move would deepen political polarization in the country. The charges come after the nation's new Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharifand his delegation were heckled by some Pakistani pilgrims during an official visit to Saudi Arabia. Sharif's supporters allege that the hecklers were linked to Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party. Pakistani authorities then charged Khan with blasphemy. Several videos posted on social media have shown people chanting "traitors” and "thieves” as Sharif's team members visited a mosque in Medina. The incident caused outrage in Pakistan, with many clerics saying that raising slogans in a religious site was disrespectful of the mosque and of Islam.