Huge rally calls for release of Pakistan’s former PM Khan

Thousands of supporters of Pakistan’s imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan have rallied demanding his release.

Gathering on the outskirts of the capital, Islamabad, on Sunday, the crowd called for an end to Khan’s detainment, which has run for more than a year. The main political rival to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif faces more than 150 police cases.

Government critics and Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party say the charges are politically motivated. Ousted from the prime minister’s office in 2022 in a no-confidence vote in parliament, the cricketer-turned-politician remains a popular figure.

Sunday’s rally, one of the biggest this year held by PTI, was peaceful, though police briefly clashed with some activists.

Authorities had blocked key roads by putting shipping containers to prevent supporters from attending the rally.

Khan’s spokesman Zulfi Bukhari denounced the police action in a statement.

Addressing the rally, Ali Amin, the top elected official in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province told the crowd: “God willing, we will secure the release of Imran Khan soon.”

Khan has been in prison since 2023 when he was arrested after being sentenced in a corruption case.