Thousands of followers of Pakistan's jailed former prime minister Imran Khan gather on the outskirts of the capital Islamabad with a request for his release, reported the Associated Press, quoted by BTA.
Khan has been in prison for over a year now on more than 150 charges against him. He is the main rival of current Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and remains popular with the people despite the allegations, which his party describes as politically motivated. He was ousted in 2022 after a vote of no confidence in parliament.
Last night's rally, one of the biggest this year, organized by Khan's Justice Movement party, was peaceful, although police briefly clashed with activists. Khan's spokesman Zulfi Bukhari condemned the police actions against the “peaceful demonstrators”.
Authorities earlier blocked key roads, deploying shipping containers to prevent Khan supporters from gathering.
„God willing, we will secure the soon release of Imran Khan,” said Ali Amin, a top official in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, addressing the crowd. He gave an ultimatum of two weeks to the government to release the political leader.