PTI Chief Imran Khan has called for nationwide protests against the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) from Tuesday over the electoral body’s decision to appoint Mohsin Naqvi as the caretaker chief minister of Punjab.

In a video address Monday evening, Imran Khan said Naqvi was a far worse enemy of PTI than the PMLN itself.

“Naqvi was a key player in the regime change [conspiracy] and he launched the most proactive efforts to remove our government,” said Imran Khan.

The PTI chief also said that PPP’s Asif Ali Zardari used to describe Naqvi as his boy.

Without naming any entity, Imran Khan said that the people behind Naqvi were the same who had cut him off from power corridors.

He voiced his concern about possible poll rigging under the interim setup. These people will delay the elections, and if the election were around they would place their own umpires, he said.

Imran Khan said countries pay a heavy price when politicians are cancelled by powers that be.

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Around two dozen PTI MNAs staged a sit-in outside the house of the National Assembly speaker in Islamabad Monday morning, shortly after they sent him emails to withdraw their resignations.

The MNAs later gathered outside the headquarters of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

The MNAs wanted to enter the Parliament House but they were stopped by the security staff. The speaker has closed the Parliament House on the account of an electric shortcircut.

Aftre being stopped from entering the Parliament, the MNAs staged a sit-in outside Speaker Pervaiz Ashraf’s residence.

The protesters blocked the road leading to the Minister’s Enclave.

PTI MNA Amir Dogar told reporters that the MNAs wanted to meet the speaker to withdraw their resignations.

He said the MNAs had come to the Parliament to remove Raja Riaz as the Leader of the Opposition.

In Pakistan, elections are held under a caretaker government appointed in consultation with the outgoing prime minister and the opposition leader. The current opposition leader is Raja Riaz, a renegade PTI member, who with another 30 PTI MNAs refused to resign in April.

The MNAs later moved their protest to the ECP office.

The PTI is also protesting the appointment of Mohsin Naqvi as the caretaker chief minister of Punjab.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf(PTI) has withdrawn at least 44 resignations of its members of the National Assembly (MNAs) days after Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf accepted 70 other resignations.

The PTI had submitted 123 resignations en mass on April 9 when Imran Khan was removed in a vote of no confidence. The party believed that en mass resignation will force early elections in the country.

Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf accepted 9 of the 123 resignations in August and bypolls were held on these NA seats in October.

This month, Ashraf approved another 70 resignations in two installments shortly after PTI Chief Imran Khan hinted that he was planning to return to the National Assembly in an attempt to control the appointment of a caretaker government.

In Pakistan, elections are held under a caretaker government appointed in consultation with the outgoing prime minister and the opposition leader. The current opposition leader is Raja Riaz, a renegade PTI member, who with another 30 PTI MNAs refused to resign in April.

Imran Khan fears that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will hold consultations with Riaz to appoint the caretaker prime minister, tilting the balance against his party.

It was in this context that PTI’s Asad Umar announced on Monday that the party had withdrawn the remaining 44 resignations so that the MNAs could go back to the National Assembly to appoint a new leader of the opposition by removing Riaz.

“Since the speaker has not accepted all the resignations, under the instructions of the party chairman 44 MNAs have sent emails to the speaker National Assembly to withdraw their resignation. The next step would be the appointment of the opposition leader,” said Asad Umar in a tweet.

Chaudhry also shared a handwritten list of 44 names.

The PTI is already facing a difficult situation in Punjab where the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has appointed Mohsin Naqvi as the caretaker chief minister. He was nominated by the Pakistan Muslim League (PMLN).

In response, the PTI has announced that it will challenge the decision before the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

As the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) led Punjab government and the opposition failed to reach a consensus on a caretaker chief minister, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Sunday appointed Mohsin Raza Naqvi as caretaker Punjab chief minister. He was sworn in Sunday night in a ceremony at the Lahore Governor House.

Punjab governor Balighur Rehman administered the oath to Naqvi.

The decision was made during a meeting held with Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja in the chair after considering all legal and constitutional aspects. The matter was sent to the electoral body under Clause 3 of Article 224-A of the Constitution.

“The Election Commission of Pakistan has unanimously decided to appoint Syed Mohisn Raza Naqvi as Care-Taker Chief Minister Punjab with immediate effect,” the ECP said in a notification issued in this regard.

During the meeting secretary election commission briefed the participants on the four names proposed for the caretaker chief minister.

Following ECP’s decision Naqvi also took to Twitter to express his gratitude for his appointment as caretaker CM.

Earlier, the outgoing Punjab chief minister Parvez Elahi had proposed the names of Sardar Ahmad Nawaz Sukhera and Naveed Akram Cheema while opposition leader Hamza Shehbaz had forwarded the names of Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi and Ahad Khan Cheema.

Who is Mohsin Raza Naqvi

Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi was born in Lahore and received his early education from Crescent Model High School and latter he attended Government College Lahore. Naqvi moved to the United States for higher education.

During his stay in Miami, Naqvi was associated with CNN as a reporter. After his higher education, he returned to Pakistan and was made the regional head of CNN. In 2009, Naqvi founded a district-level channel in Pakistan.