Thousands of people have taken to the streets in Pakistan’s capital, demanding the release of former prime minister Imran Khan, who has been behind bars for more than a year on politically motivated charges from his party.
Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party held a rally in Islamabad on Sunday, marking its first show of power. Disputed national and regional elections In February.
In pictures and videos posted on social media platform X, Khan’s supporters are seen marching towards the capital from different parts of the country.
“We will not rest until Khan is released from jail,” Hammad Azhar, a close ally of Khan, said in an opening speech setting the tone for the rally.
Khan is the only person who can save this country from the “clutch of corrupt and incompetent politicians”, said prominent Lahore lawyer and PTI leader Salman Akram Raja.
Islamabad was to the administration Blocked key entry points In the city, shipping containers and riot police were deployed to prevent potential unrest. Social media videos show dozens of PTI activists successfully pushing away containers to clear a path at an entry point.
“It was very difficult to get to the rally. All roads were blocked. But we are firm. If there is a call from Imran Khan to protest and we don’t come, it is not possible. We are with them till our last breath,” PTI supporter Robina Ghafoor told Al Jazeera.
PTI said officials were harassing activists to suppress attendance at the rally. Visuals aired on local broadcaster Sama News showed angry attendees pelting stones at riot police, who also fired tear gas shells to disperse the protesters.
Al Jazeera’s Kamal Haider, reporting from Islamabad, said it was the first time since Khan’s arrest a year ago that a Pakistani court had allowed the PTI to hold a rally outside Islamabad.
“But the authorities have made rules on the roads by placing containers, making it difficult for people to reach the place,” he said.
In a statement, the Islamabad Police spokesperson accused the protesters of retaliating by pelting stones at police personnel, injuring several, including a senior officer.
Khan, a former cricket star, was ousted from office by a no-confidence vote in April 2022.
He has been in jail since August 2023 and is facing trial for allegedly inciting violence on May 9 of that year – the day his supporters ransacked and attacked military installations.
The unprecedented arrest and subsequent court martial of the former spy chief, who is believed to have been close to Khan when he was prime minister. complicated his case.
Khan denies the allegations. All his beliefs have been Either suspended or overturned In recent months.
Moreover, in July, Information Minister Ataullah Tarar announced at a press conference in Islamabad that the government would Khan’s PTI party bannedCiting allegations of inciting violent protests and leaking classified information last year.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan called the attempt to ban PTI “a major blow to democratic norms” and said it showed “a sense of political desperation”.
A united nation Panel of Rights Experts It also found in July that Khan’s detention “had no legal basis and was intended to disqualify him for political office.”
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