(Image: AP)
More than 5,000 supporters of imprisoned former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan have begun a days-long journey towards Islamabad to demand his release, after talks between the government and the opposition fell through.
The looming showdown threatens to deepen Pakistan’s political uncertainty at a time when the country is grappling with a surge in militant attacks.
Khan, national cricketing hero and chancellor of the University of Bradford from 2005 to 2014, is current Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s main political rival and has been imprisoned since 2023 on corruption and other charges that he and his party say are politically motivated.
Despite his imprisonment, he retains a substantial and passionate support base, keeping him at the centre of Pakistan’s turbulent political landscape.
What is happening?
The demonstrators, travelling in a convoy of trucks, buses and cars, departed from Lakki Marwat district in the north-western province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where Khan’s party holds power.
Organisers have planned overnight stops along the route as the caravan makes its way towards the capital.
Sohail Afridi, the province’s chief minister, and a staunch Khan supporter, is leading the march.
Speaking from a truck emblazoned with a large portrait of Khan, he expressed confidence in the movement’s ability to press its demands and bring the political standoff into the heart of the capital.
Authorities have erected roadblocks using containers at the entrance to Islamabad and inside the city.
Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, or PTI, and the federal government were in talks to postpone the march but failed to reach a resolution.
Gohar Khan, the party’s chairman, said negotiations remained deadlocked after two rounds.
Interior minister Mohsin Naqvi blamed Mr Afridi for the failure of the talks, warning that he would be held responsible for any deaths during the planned march.
Mr Sharif’s government urged postponement of the march, citing a surge in militant attacks by the Pakistani Taliban in the north-west.
His government has accused PTI of sympathising with the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan.
Protesters are also demanding Khan’s transfer to a hospital and permission for his family to visit him.
Officials say he is in good health and receives regular family visits but maintain that meetings with the imprisoned former leader cannot be used for political purposes.
The march was originally scheduled for September 27 but was postponed after party leaders said authorities blocked key approaches to Islamabad, including Attock Bridge, a major crossing for convoys from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Background
Previous protests by Khan’s supporters have turned violent, including one in 2024 in which security personnel and civilians were killed.
Khan was ousted in a parliamentary confidence vote in April 2022.
Mr Sharif returned to office after the February 2024 election, which Khan’s party says was rigged to deny it victory.
The government denies the allegation.