Pakistani cleric ends sit-in, calls for blocking highways

ISLAMABAD – A radical Pakistani cleric says his tens of thousands of supporters have ended their sit-in in the capital and will start blocking highways across the country.

Maulana Fazlur Rehman is looking to pressure Prime Minister Imran Khan to resign, accusing him of bad governance.

Rehman delivered a speech Wednesday in Islamabad saying his followers will return to their home cities and villages to disrupt traffic.

But it’s unclear how many will heed the call now that the sit-in appeared to be fizzling out, two weeks after it began. Many protesters were seen leaving Islamabad.

Pakistani authorities have used walls of shipping containers to block roads leading to the protest camp on Islamabad’s outskirts.

Khan has said he won’t step down, but allowed the protesters to remain in their designated area.