Imran Khan’s party starts new Pakistan protest with leader in jail

LAHORE - Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party started new protests nationwide until what it called “democracy is restored” in the country, eight months after similar demonstrations turned deadly.

The police arrested many supporters of the ex-cricket star when they gathered along with other opposition parties for protest in Lahore, the nation’s second biggest city, according to a statement by Khan’s Tehreek-e-Insaf party on Aug 5.

For security, the authorities have ordered a ban on the assembly of more than four people in different cities.

Khan has called for protests as he completes two years in jail following his arrest and convictions by courts in different cases from corruption to misuse of power when he was in power for about four years until April 2022.

He is

serving a 14-year jail term

for legalising equivalent to US$239 million (S$307.90 million) funds of a business tycoon that were retrieved from the UK’s National Crime Agency.

Khan says cases against him are politically motivated.

Khan blamed the powerful army chief Asim Munir of backing the government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and appealed to his supporters to join the “movement for genuine freedom,” according to a post by the party on Aug 2.

The army is seen as controlling all key national decisions including the country’s foreign policy directly or indirectly for most of the nation’s history. It officially denies involvement in politics.

The protest by the opposition parties has failed as they have not been able to gather many people, information minister Attaullah Tarar told Bloomberg in a message. 

The government has been making efforts to revive an economy, which was on the verge of default in 2022, after reaching a loan agreement with the International Monetary Fund in 2024.

In the past year, key target rate has dropped by half, inflation has slowed while the benchmark stock index has gained. 

A similar protest in November turned deadly when the security forces arrested hundreds of Khan’s supporters in the capital, Islamabad, in a crackdown that killed at least 12 people including security officials. BLOOMBERG