KHAN SUPPORTERS MARCH ON ISLAMABAD AFTER TALKS COLLAPSE
More than 5,000 supporters of jailed former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan set off from Lakki Marwat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Sunday on a multi-day march towards Islamabad, demanding his release. The convoy of trucks, buses and cars travelled under Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party flags, with one truck carrying a billboard reading "release Imran Khan". Sohail Afridi, chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where PTI holds power, is leading the march from a container truck bearing a portrait of Khan. The march had been postponed from the previous week to allow talks between PTI and the federal government, but those negotiations ended without agreement. PTI said the talks failed because authorities would not grant party leaders access to Khan to consult him, and because the government did not agree to an immediate medical examination and treatment for him. Authorities in Islamabad have blocked key access routes into the capital using shipping containers.
Khan has been jailed since 2023 on charges his party says are politically motivated, and his supporters have raised concerns in recent months over his health, saying he cannot access proper medical care. In August, he was briefly moved from jail to a state-run hospital for medical examination and treatment after complaints about his condition. Khan, a former cricket player, was removed as prime minister in a no-confidence vote in April 2022, which he said was orchestrated by Pakistan's military at the behest of the United States. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif returned to office after a February 2024 election that PTI said was rigged against it, an allegation denied by the government and military.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi accused Afridi of sabotaging the negotiations, saying Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's government reneged on earlier commitments over counter-terrorism, and warned Afridi would be held responsible for any loss of life during the march. Sharif's government had urged postponing the march, citing a rise in attacks by Pakistani Taliban fighters in the northwest. Demonstrators stopped overnight in Karak and planned to resume around midday on Monday, with Afridi saying the march was expected to reach a town roughly 80km west of Islamabad by Thursday.