Joint opposition parties held protest rallies in cities across the country on Thursday, accusing Prime Minister Imran Khan's government of ruining the economy and seeking to intimidate and silence its opponents. The "Black Day" protests, a year after Khan's PTI party swept to power following a bitterly contested election, come amid mounting economic problems for
Pakistan and a political climate that has grown increasingly angry. Surging prices of fuel and everyday staples, a plunging currency that has lost a quarter of its value since the election and allegations of media censorship and stifling opposition voices has fuelled the protests. "Every day in the presence of Imran Khan is a black day," Maryam Nawaz told a crowd of thousands of supporters in a football stadium in Quetta.