ISLAMABAD — More than 5,000 supporters of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan began a multi-day motorcade from northwestern Pakistan toward the capital after negotiations with the federal government collapsed, NPR, BBC News and The Guardian reported.
The convoy departed Sunday from Lakki Marwat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province — where Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party holds power — in trucks, buses and cars led by provincial Chief Minister Sohail Afridi. Organizers planned overnight stops through towns including Kohat and Peshawar and said they intended to enter Islamabad after drawing larger crowds. Afridi spoke from a container truck painted with Khan’s portrait, vowing to press the release demand in the heart of the capital.
Khan has been imprisoned since 2023 on corruption and other charges that he and PTI call politically motivated. Demonstrators demand his freedom, transfer to a hospital and freer family visits; officials say he is in good health and already receives relatives under rules that bar turning meetings into political rallies. PTI chairman Gohar Khan said two rounds of talks remained deadlocked after the government sought to postpone the march.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi blamed Afridi for the breakdown and warned he would be held responsible for any loss of life. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government cited a surge in Pakistani Taliban attacks in the northwest as reason to delay and has accused PTI of sympathizing with the militants — allegations the party rejects. Authorities erected container barriers at Islamabad’s entrances and inside the government district.
A similar march set for late September was postponed after key approaches, including Attock Bridge, were blocked. Previous PTI protests have turned violent, with security personnel and civilians killed in 2024 unrest. The new convoy deepens Pakistan’s political uncertainty as police and the military balance crowd control against a rising militant threat along the Afghan frontier.
Sources: NPR, BBC News, The Guardian
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