More than 5,000 supporters of imprisoned former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan began a dayslong march toward Islamabad on Sunday to demand his release, after talks between the government and the opposition fell through, the Associated Press reported on Monday. The looming showdown threatens to deepen Pakistan's political uncertainty at a time when the country is also grappling with a surge in militant attacks.
The demonstrators, traveling in a convoy of trucks, buses, and cars, departed from Lakki Marwat district in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where Khan's party holds power, with overnight stops planned along the route to the capital. Sohail Afridi, the province's chief minister and a staunch Khan supporter, is leading the march, speaking from a specially designed container truck emblazoned with a large portrait of Khan. Authorities have erected roadblocks using shipping containers at the entrance to Islamabad and inside the city.
Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party and the federal government were in talks to postpone the march but failed to reach a resolution, with PTI chairman Gohar Khan saying negotiations remained deadlocked after two rounds. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi blamed Afridi for the failure of the talks and warned he would be held responsible for any loss of life during the march. The march had originally been scheduled for September 27 and was delayed after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's government offered negotiations that fell apart over the weekend.
Khan, 74, a former cricket star, is 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. His rift with the country's leadership dates to his 2022 ouster by parliament and deepened after his 2023 arrest sparked riots. All but one of his convictions have since been suspended or overturned, with appeals pending. The PTI's last large-scale protest two years ago ended in deadly clashes with security forces.
