Thousands of supporters of Pakistan’s imprisoned ex-Prime Minister Khan rally to demand his release

Thousands of supporters of Pakistan’s imprisoned former Prime Minister rallied on Monday in the volatile northwest part of Pak, to mark the 1 year of their leader’s prison sentence and demanded his immediate release. 

The protest is part of Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI), the main opposition party in the country, campaign in order to pressurise the current govt headed by Shehbaz Sharif to free Imran Khan immediately.

The rally was held near Swabi, a city in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where PTI has a stronghold. More than 10000 supporters were in the gathering waving the Party flag and chanting slogans. Top party leaders said that the former cricketer would soon be among them although didn’t elaborate it in the comments.

This has been one of the biggest protests since 2022 when Khan was ousted from the Pak Parliament by a no confidence motion. Ali Amin Gundapur, the CM of the province asked the participants of the rally to get ready to march to Islamabad, the nation’s capital as the Party is planning a big protest in the capital city early next month. 

Khan was arrested on 5th August 2023 after a court in Islamabad handed him a three year prison confinement in a graft case. Despite multiple charges against him, Imran Khan remains a popular heroic figure. Most of the convictions have been removed against him. However the former premier is still behind bars as few cases are still against him, all linked to overthrow Khan’s party and rule. This accusation has been firmly opposed by the Shehbaz Sharif Govt that is presently in charge of the ministry.