PTI calls Nationwide protests as Imran Khan nears three years in Jail

LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Thursday announced nationwide protest rallies from August 5 to coincide with the completion of three years of imprisonment of its founder and former Prime Minister Imran Khan, saying the campaign would continue until his release.

PTI General Secretary Salman Akram Raja said demonstrations would be held across Pakistan on August 5 before evolving into a sustained protest movement demanding Khan’s freedom.

Speaking outside Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, where Khan is lodged in solitary confinement, Raja also cautioned the government against taking action against PTI workers during the planned demonstrations.

Khan, 73, was arrested on August 5, 2023, after an Islamabad trial court convicted him in the Toshakhana corruption case. He has since been arrested and convicted in several other cases, resulting in his continued incarceration.

Raja alleged that Khan had been held in solitary confinement for several months and claimed that neither his family members nor legal representatives had been allowed to meet him since December last year. He further alleged that the former premier was being denied adequate medical care and justice through the judicial process.

“The oppression and injustice in the country must come to an end,” Raja said, while demanding restoration of Khan’s right to meet his family, lawyers and political associates.

Every week, Khan’s sisters, lawyers and PTI supporters gather outside Adiala Jail, urging the authorities to permit family visits and improve his detention conditions.

The party has repeatedly raised concerns over Khan’s health. In June, he was shifted to a hospital in Islamabad for treatment of an eye ailment before being returned to prison. PTI later demanded his transfer to a hospital for proper medical care and called for an immediate end to his solitary confinement.

The August 5 mobilisation is expected to become PTI’s latest nationwide campaign aimed at intensifying pressure on the government over Khan’s continued imprisonment and restrictions on his access to family and legal counsel.