More than 5,000 supporters of jailed former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan set off from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Sunday toward Islamabad after two rounds of talks with the government failed to cancel the protest. The march, organized by Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, is intended to pressure the government to release him, while authorities have blocked major routes into the capital and warned of action against demonstrators.
Supporters joined convoys in several parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which is governed by the PTI. The march was originally scheduled for September 27 but was postponed until October 4 to allow negotiations. PTI provincial Chief Minister Sohail Afridi said the protesters would reach Khairabad, about 80 kilometres (50 miles) west of Islamabad, by Thursday, when organisers would announce the next phase of the campaign.
Khan, 73, has been behind bars since August 2023 following a series of convictions that his party describes as politically motivated. All but one of the convictions have since been suspended or overturned on appeal. The PTI is also demanding the release of Khan’s three sisters, whose arrests last month further heightened tensions. Concerns about Khan’s health, particularly his right eye, which has required months of specialist treatment, have also driven the campaign.
The government has prepared for the demonstrators’ arrival in Islamabad for weeks, erecting barriers made from shipping containers across key access routes. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi confirmed that the talks had failed, accused Afridi of “sabotaging” the negotiations and said the government would not allow the PTI to “create a disturbance.” He cited a September 14 Islamabad High Court order stating that political parties and their leaders had no “lawful right to occupy public roads, highways, interchanges, toll plazas and buildings in Islamabad.” Naqvi warned that anyone violating the order would be pursued individually.
James Dorsey, a fellow at the National University of Singapore, said Khan was “essentially a populist leader” with “a genuine popular movement that had broad popular support,” explaining the government’s determination to prevent protesters from entering the capital. With Pakistan facing security concerns following its unresolved February 2026 conflict with Afghanistan, Dorsey said Islamabad wants to avoid escalation. “It’s a problem for the government, but I don’t think it’s an existential threat,” he told AFP.
Original Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/4/pro-imran-khan-mass-rally-launched-after-pakistan-government-talks-fail
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Publish Date: 2026-10-05 04:00:00
