'Chowkidar chor hai' slogan heard at rallies against the ouster of Imran Khan; watch viral video

"Chowkidar chor hai" slogan was heard at a rally organised by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders against the ouster of Imran Khan as Pakistan's Prime Minister. The slogan, first raised in India by Congress against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was used in Pakistan against its Army for allegedly taking away Imran Khan's mandate.

The mass congregated at Pakistan’s Lal Haveli in Punjab province against Imran Khan's dispossession referred to the Pakistan Army as “chowkidar”, or the gatekeeper, and called them "chor", or thieves.

Pakistan’s Former interior minister Sheikh Rashid, however, was seen making an attempt to hold the protestors from raising the slogan against the Army.

"Don't raise slogans... we will fight with peace," Sheik Rashid said.

Pakistan National Assembly ousted Imran Khan as Pakistan's PM in a midnight vote on a no-confidence motion after several delays because of the Speaker's reluctance to take up the issue regardless of the Supreme Court's order.

As many as 174 members recorded their votes in favour of the motion to remove Imran Khan from the office after the Speaker and the deputy Speaker put forward their resignation late Saturday night.

With reference to the no-confidence motion, Sheikh Rashid said: "If you want to save your country then don't take a decision in the dark of night but in daylight."

"On 29/4 there will be Eid. Be ready we will take the jail bharo movement from Lal Haveli daily. I myself will take it from Karachi," he said, adding that he "will tell all the Sindhis that they (then opposition) are thieves, docents and robbers."

Watch video here:

On Sunday, the PTI organised rallies in Islamabad, Karachi, Peshawar, Lahore and several other cities with protestors shouting slogans against the Opposition.

Earlier, Imran Khan said that his ouster commemorated the beginning of a "freedom struggle" against what he deemed as "foreign conspiracy of regime change". In a bid to galvanise his supporters, the ousted PM said "it is always the people who protected their own sovereignty and democracy".

"Pakistan became an independent state in 1947; but the freedom struggle begins again today against a foreign conspiracy of regime change. It is always the people of the country who defend their sovereignty & democracy," he said in another Tweet.

Also Read: Russia-Ukraine war: Mass grave of slaughtered Ukrainian civilians found near Kyiv