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PTI supporters staged rallies across Pakistan on the third anniversary of Imran Khan's imprisonment despite police action and official curbs. The protests underscored his party's continued pressure campaign as rights concerns over his detention grew.
Lahore,UPDATED: Aug 5, 2026 15:24 IST
Supporters of former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan staged protest rallies in several parts of the country on Wednesday to mark three years of his imprisonment, defying a police crackdown. His party sought to hold rallies across Pakistan's four provinces, but authorities denied permission in Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan, making a gathering in Peshawar the main focus of the campaign demanding his release.
Khan, 73, has been in jail since August 5, 2023, after being convicted in a corruption case. Several other cases have also been filed against him, and while convictions in some of them were later suspended or overturned, he remains in prison pending trial in other cases.
Despite the refusal of permission in several provinces, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf asked its workers in regional units to go ahead with rallies, senior party leader Sheikh Waqas Akram said. That led to police action, with arrests reported in Punjab. "But we will come out for him (Khan)," Akram said.
Party lawyer Abuzar Salman Niazi said, "Punjab Police have arrested over 20 workers in Mianwali, hometown of Imran Khan, stopping them from coming out to demand the release of their leader." In Punjab province, police arrested more than 20 workers of Khan's party for staging a demonstration.
At least two of Khan's sisters were expected to address the Peshawar gathering, held in the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where the PTI is in power. Senior party leader and former federal minister Moonis Elahi said Khan has endured "every kind of hardship" during his imprisonment, and alleged that he has been denied family meetings and proper medical treatment.
Isabelle Lassee, Amnesty 's acting regional director for South Asia, said Pakistan's authorities had "systematically denied Imran Khan the right to a fair trial, subjected him to prolonged solitary confinement, and limited his access to medical care and visitation rights". She also said Khan had not been allowed to meet his family for more than eight months and that both he and his wife, Bushra Bibi, had been denied regular access to legal counsel since December 2025.
The protests on Wednesday highlighted the PTI's continued campaign for Khan's release, even as police moved against party workers in some areas and authorities refused permission for rallies in three provinces.
With PTI Inputs
- Ends
Published By:
India Today Web Desk
Published On:
Aug 5, 2026 15:24 IST
