Supporters of the former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) sit atop a vehicle as they head towards Islamabad, during an anti-government rally, in Peshawar, Pakistan, on November 24, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Thousands of supporters of Pakistan’s imprisoned former premier Imran Khan have defied a lockdown and widespread arrests to head to the capital Monday (November 25, 2024) to demand his release.

Khan, who has been in jail for over a year and faces more than 150 criminal cases, remains popular. His party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf or PTI, says the cases are politically motivated.

The “long march” comes ahead of a visit by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to Islamabad.

The convoy of vehicles carrying protesters is expected to reach the capital later Monday. Security officials say they expect between 9,000-11,000 demonstrators, while the PTI claims the number will be much higher.

The lockdown, which has been in place for two days, has disrupted daily life. Travel between Islamabad and other cities has become nearly impossible. Ambulances and cars were seen turning back from areas along the key Grand Trunk Road highway in Punjab province, where shipping containers were used to block roads.

Footage circulating online showed some protesters, who had been traveling all night, operating heavy machinery to remove the containers.

“We are determined and we will reach Islamabad, though police are using tear gas to stop our march,” Kamran Bangash, a PTI senior leader, told The Associated Press. “We will overcome all hurdles one by one, and our supporters are removing shipping containers from roads.”

Bangash also said Khan’s wife, Bushra Bibi, who was recently released on bail in a graft case, will lead the march along with Ali Amin Gandapur, the chief minister in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province where Khan’s party remains in power.

Almost 50 kilometers (31 miles) away from Islamabad, Bibi, wearing a white head-to-toe burqa, addressed protesters while sitting in a truck, urging them to remain determined to “achieve their goal” and free Khan. She then chanted, “God is great” and left.

Khan’s main political opponent, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, heads the current government.

Sharif’s spokesman, Attaullah Tarar, said on Sunday that whenever any high-profile foreign delegation comes to Pakistan, the PTI “begins the politics of long marches and onslaught on Islamabad to harm the economy.”

Some economists say protests cause billions of rupees in damages to the country’s fragile economy.

Protesters on Sunday night burned trees as police fired tear gas to disperse crowds. Khan supporters retaliated by using slingshots and pelting security personnel with rocks.

In a bid to foil the protest, police have arrested more than 4,000 Khan supporters since Friday and suspended mobile and internet services “in areas with security concerns,” which the PTI said affected the efficacy of its call for protest on social media. On Thursday, a court prohibited rallies in the capital and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said anyone violating the ban would be arrested.

Authorities say only courts can order the release of Khan, who was ousted in 2022 through a no-confidence vote in Parliament. He has been imprisoned since his first conviction in a graft case, in August 2023.

Khan has also been sentenced in several cases, including to three years, 10 years, 14 years and seven years to be served concurrently under Pakistani law. His convictions were later overturned on appeal but he cannot be freed due to other pending cases against him.

Islamabad:

Pakistan’s capital was locked down on Saturday, swarmed by security forces with mobile internet cut as supporters of jailed ex-prime minister Imran Khan attempted to seize the streets in protest.

Khan was barred from standing in the February elections that were marred by allegations of rigging, and sidelined by dozens of legal cases. 

But his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party has defied a crackdown to needle the government with regular demonstrations.

PTI activists began driving to Islamabad on Friday from his powerbase in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province but were met with shipping container roadblocks and volleys of tear gas.

On Saturday, small and scattered convoys pressed in on Islamabad in defiance of the government which approved troops for deployment on the streets — citing the need to guarantee security ahead of a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit due to open on October 15.

“I am so proud of all our people,” said a message from Khan posted on social media site X on Saturday afternoon. “You showed unfaltering resilience and courage as you came out yesterday and overcame unbelievable obstacles.”

Protests were also due Saturday in Lahore, however the main motorway linking the eastern megacity to the capital was blocked.

Amnesty International said the communications cuts and road blockades “infringe on people’s right to freedom of expression, access to information, peaceful assembly and movement”.

“These restrictions are part of a worrying clampdown on the right to protest in Pakistan,” the rights group said.

The social media site X — formerly Twitter — has also been blocked across Pakistan since after the election, when mobile internet was likewise cut on polling day and PTI allege widespread vote tampering took place.

The 72-year-old Khan served as prime minister from 2018 to 2022, when he was ousted in a parliamentary no-confidence vote after falling out with the powerful military establishment considered Pakistan’s political kingmakers.

As opposition leader he led an unprecedented campaign of defiance before becoming tangled in slews of court cases he claims have been orchestrated to prevent his return to power.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)