By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s opposition, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, launched a wave of protests across the country on Tuesday, demanding the immediate release of its jailed founder, Imran Khan, and other detained members, as authorities mounted a crackdown to suppress the movement.
The demonstrations, which PTI leaders vowed would persist to press the ruling coalition to release the party founder, mark the second anniversary of Khan’s incarceration in a £190 million corruption case
Khan, a former cricket star turned prime minister, has been held at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi since August 2023, facing a slew of charges, including trials under the Anti-Terrorism Act tied to the violent May 9, 2023, protests. The PTI insists these cases are politically motivated, a claim the government rejects.
The PTI said Tuesday’s protests are the “inception” of a sustained campaign, not a one-off event. “August 5 is the inception of the protest, not the final call,” Asad Qaiser, a prominent PTI leader, said, adding that provincial chapters had been instructed to organise “rallies, public awareness events, and other activities” nationwide.
“The protest will continue till the fake government is removed… it is the right of the masses that their true representatives sit in parliament.”
PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja said the party has no plans to gather workers at a specific location and will protest at various sites.
In Punjab, media cell head Shayan Bashir promised a “major show of strength in Lahore and outside Adiala Jail (in Rawalpindi), besides organising massive rallies across the province,” despite a wave of arrests.
Bashir said “police made about 200 raids and arrested party workers,” though many were released after submitting affidavits. All members of the National Assembly (MNAs) and senators will converge outside Adiala Jail under the leadership of Khan’s sister, Aleema Khan, while provincial assembly members will stage demonstrations in their constituencies.
In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur pledged “the largest rally in Pakistan’s history” in Peshawar, with the KP chapter observing “Youm-e-Siyah” (Black Day) on August 5.
Authorities have responded with sweeping measures to stifle the protests. Section 144, banning public gatherings, has been imposed in Punjab, Azad Kashmir, Islamabad, and Rawalpindi, where the administration outlawed assemblies for a week.
Rawalpindi Deputy Commissioner Hassan Waqar Cheema’s order cited “an imminent threat,” referencing intelligence that “certain groups and elements are actively mobilising with intentions to disturb the law and order situation.” It noted that “PTI workers, family members, and especially Khan’s sister, are used to protesting outside the jail.”
Security around Adiala Jail has been fortified with additional police, checkpoints, and barriers following a request from the jail administration, which cited the planned protest and the facility’s overcrowding—7,700 inmates against a capacity of 2,174. In Islamabad, police are training over a thousand Anti-Riot Unit officers and have ramped up surveillance of PTI leaders, monitoring hotels, motels, and guest houses.
In Lahore, police detained over 300 PTI workers ahead of a planned rally at Minar-i-Pakistan, for which the party sought permission from the Lahore High Court. In Punjab, dozens of leaders and activists were arrested in a preemptive sweep, while in Jarranwala, about 20 were taken into custody.
Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari denounced the PTI, stating, “The politics of chaos will be rejected and defeated by the people. The PTI is no longer a political party but has become a fascist group determined to damage the state institutions and disrupt national unity.” She called the protest’s timing “highly regrettable,” coinciding with a day of solidarity with Kashmiris.
From his cell, Khan has fueled the movement, calling for a nationwide uprising “Mr. Khan had given a message that he would be ready to stay in jail for 10 years for the people of Pakistan and the rule of law and not succumb to any kind of pressure, including ‘fake cases’ and delay in the hearing of his cases,” . Senator Ali Zafar, conveying Khan’s message, said.
Zafar accused the government of subjecting Khan to “the worst kind” of human rights violations. “The government wants to break him.”
Zafar criticized the legal cases against Khan, noting that four major charges, including Toshakhana-I and the cipher case, had “crumbled” in higher courts, except for the Al-Qadir Trust case, which he alleged was being deliberately delayed.
On negotiations, Zafar offered a nuanced view. “Though the door for dialogue had been closed by Imran Khan, in politics, decisions do change.” Yet Qaiser was resolute. “Khan’s release could happen within an hour,” he said, “but PTI will not strike any deal.”
The PTI has turned to the courts to bolster its campaign. Alongside its Lahore High Court petition, the party requested permission to hold a workers’ convention at F-9 Park in Islamabad, a request the federal capital administration rejected. Raja filed a separate petition in the Islamabad High Court, seeking details of any cases against him amid fears of arrest.
Internally, the party faces challenges. A senior PTI leader admitted “a lack of coordination among leadership due to restrictions and crackdowns,” while the defection of deputy information secretary Sajid Ali Qureshi and others to the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) dealt a blow on the eve of the protests.
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