More than 5,000 supporters of imprisoned former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan began a dayslong march toward Islamabad on Sunday, signaling a major escalation in the country's ongoing political standoff. The demonstrators, traveling in a caravan of trucks, buses, and cars, departed from the Lakki Marwat district in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where Khan’s party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), holds power.
Sohail Afridi, the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and a staunch supporter of the former leader, is leading the march. Speaking from a truck decorated with a large portrait of Khan, Afridi expressed confidence that the movement would successfully pressure the government to meet their demands and bring the protest into the capital. Organizers have scheduled several overnight stops along the route as the convoy advances.
The march comes after two rounds of negotiations between the PTI and the federal government ended in a deadlock. Gohar Khan, the party’s chairman, confirmed that no resolution was reached. In response, federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi blamed Afridi for the failure of the talks, warning that the provincial leader would be held accountable for any loss of life that occurs during the march. Authorities have already taken measures to restrict movement, erecting roadblocks with shipping containers at the city’s entrances and within Islamabad itself.
The political tension arrives as Pakistan faces a surge in militant attacks by the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government had urged the organizers to postpone the march, citing these security concerns and accusing the PTI of harboring sympathies for the militant group. This march was originally planned for September 27 but was delayed after authorities blocked key routes, including the Attock Bridge, a major crossing for convoys from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Imran Khan, a former cricket star, has been imprisoned since 2023 on various charges, including corruption. Both he and his party maintain that the legal actions against him are politically motivated. Despite his incarceration, Khan remains a central figure in the country’s volatile political landscape, retaining a large and dedicated following. Protesters are demanding his release, his transfer to a hospital, and permission for family visits. Government officials maintain that Khan is in good health and receives regular family visits, but they insist that these meetings cannot be used for political purposes. The current situation echoes previous unrest, including a 2024 protest that resulted in civilian and security personnel casualties. Khan was ousted in a parliamentary no-confidence vote in April 2022, and his party alleges that the February 2024 election, which saw Sharif return to office, was rigged to deny them victory—a claim the government denies.
