Imran Khan barred from entering Lahore
Lahore: Ahead of his party's planned rally in Sindh, authorities in the southern Pakistani province have issued fresh orders barring the entry of cricketer-turned- politician Imran Khan, who has been prevented from travelling to the region for almost two years now.
Khan had announced plans to lead a rally under the banner of his Tehrik-e-Insaaf party in the port city of Karachi on Sunday, but the Sindh government barred him from entering the province for a month on the grounds that his presence could create law and order problems.
The travel ban on the former flamboyant cricketer was first imposed on May 9, 2007 in the wake of ethnic violence in Karachi, a stronghold of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), which is an ally in the coalition governments in Sindh and at the centre.
Khan, however, told reporters that he would flout the ban and reach Sindh. He criticised the PPP-led government in Sindh for giving in to pressure from the MQM.
"The MQM is a terrorist organisation and it should be banned forthwith," he said.
The violence in 2007 had erupted following the arrival in Karachi of Supreme Court chief justice Iftikhar M Chaudhry, who had been removed by then president Pervez Musharraf.
Since then, Khan has made four attempts to enter Sindh but could not succeed because the provincial government issued orders banning his entry on every occasion. All such orders had similar contents - that Khan's entry might create law and order problems in Sindh.
Khan has held the MQM responsible for bloodshed in Karachi in 2007 and claimed to have gathered "evidence" against the party's London-based chief Altaf Hussain with plans to file a case against him. However, Khan could not succeed in these efforts.
Since then, the MQM has turned against him and still manages to keep Khan at bay.
Khan, who led the team that won the only World Cup for Pakistan in 1992, is a staunch advocate of an independent judiciary and a corruption-free society.
His party refused to contest last year's general election under the caretaker government set up by Musharraf.
