Asia Post
23 minutes ago Kelly Ng and BBC Urdu Getty Images Some 5,000 people took to the streets on Sunday carrying red-and-green flags of Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party Supporters of Imran Khan have begun a long march from Pakistan's north-west towards the capital Islamabad, calling for the release of the jailed ex-prime minister. Some 5,000 people have taken to the streets from the city of Lakki Marwat on Sunday, carrying flags of Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party. Also part of the convoy is a truck with a huge billboard that read "release Imran Khan".
Concerns have grown in recent months over the 73-year-old Khan's health. His supporters claim he is unable to access proper medical care. The march, originally scheduled last week, was postponed to allow for talks between the government and PTI leaders, but these talks have ended in deadlock.
Sohail Afridi, chief minister for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province ruled by PTI, expects that the march will make its way to a town about 80km (50 miles) west of Islamabad by Thursday. "[By then] this movement will have reached every corner of the country and every square will have become a centre of activity," he said on Sunday, urging the people to "play an active role in the political process". The demonstrators have paused for the night in the city of Karak and is expected to resume their march around midday on Monday.
Authorities in Islamabad have stacked up shipping containers to block key access routes to the capital city. The PTI said talks with government failed because authorities rejected the party's request for access to Khan so that its leaders could consult him on national and political issues. The party also said it had demanded that Khan be given an immediate medical examination and treatment.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi meanwhile accused Afridi of "sabotaging" negotiations, saying the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government had backed out of earlier commitments on counter-terrorism issues, according to Pakistan's local media reports. In August, Khan was briefly transferred from jail to a state-run hospital for medical examination and treatment following complaints about his deteriorating health. The doctors later deemed him "medically fit".
The intervention was the most significant relief Khan has received from the courts since he was imprisoned in 2023 on corruption charges, which he says were politically motivated. Khan's family and the PTI, however, criticised the authorities for defying a court order that he be examined by physicians at a specific private hospital. The arrest order said Khanum had been mobilising people to "create law and order situations" and "raising/chanting objectionable slogans amongst the general public against the Government".
Khan, who previously captained the Pakistan national cricket team, served as the country's prime minister from 2018 to 2022. He was imprisoned in August 2023 and has faced charges in more than 100 cases, ranging from leaking state secrets to selling state gifts - all of which he decried as politically motivated. Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi were both sentenced to 17 years late last year.
His jailing triggered large-scale protests by supporters, which were met with a crackdown by authorities. Despite his incarceration, Khan remains a significant presence in Pakistani politics with a large number of supporters. Former international cricket captains have made several appeals to Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif urging Khan be accorded proper medical care.
Source: bbc.com
