Protests across Pakistan as Imran Khan completes three years in jail

Supporters of former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan held protest rallies in several parts of the country on Wednesday as he completed three years in prison, defying a police crackdown.

Police in Punjab province arrested more than 20 workers of Khan’s political party for staging a demonstration.

The 73-year-old cricketer-turned-politician has been in jail since Aug 5, 2023, when he was convicted in a corruption case. He faces several cases. He remains in prison pending trial in other cases.

Khan’s party workers had sought permission from authorities to hold rallies at several locations across Pakistan’s four provinces on Wednesday.

Authorities denied permission in Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan, making a gathering in Peshawar the centrepiece of the party’s campaign, which primarily sought Khan’s release.

At least two of Khan’s sisters were expected to address the gathering in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), is in power.

Despite authorities refusing permission elsewhere, the party leadership directed workers in regional units to organise rallies, senior PTI leader Sheikh Waqas Akram told media.

The demonstrations prompted police crackdowns, with arrests reported in Punjab. “But we will come out for him (Khan),” Akram added.

Party lawyer Abuzar Salman Niazi said, “Punjab Police have arrested over 20 workers in Mianwali, hometown of Imran Khan, stopping them from coming out to demand the release of their leader.”

Senior PTI leader and former federal minister Moonis Elahi said Khan has endured “every kind of hardship” during his imprisonment. He alleged that the former Prime Minister had been denied meetings with his family and proper medical treatment.

Khan’s supporters continued to demand his release as the former Prime Minister marked three years behind bars.

Isabelle Lassee, Amnesty International’s acting regional director for South Asia, said Pakistan’s authorities had “systematically denied Imran Khan the right to a fair trial, subjected him to prolonged solitary confinement, and limited his access to medical care and visitation rights”.

She also said Khan had not been permitted to meet his family for more than eight months and that he and his wife, Bushra Bibi, had been denied regular access to legal counsel since December 2025.