LAHORE: Thousands of people arrived in Lahore from different parts of Pakistan on Saturday to attend a rally by former prime minister Imran Khan’s party to demand his release as the provincial government asked organizers to abide by the law and end the gathering by 6pm as agreed.
After days of uncertainty, the Lahore administration on Friday evening allowed Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to hold the rally from 3-6pm in the Kahna area of the city, subject to compliance with 43 conditions, including that supporters would not cause unrest or chant anti-state slogans.
The main aim of the rally, which follows one held in the federal capital of Islamabad on Sept. 8, is to mobilize supporters for the release of Khan, who has been in jail since August last year. He was convicted in four cases since he was first taken into custody, all of which have been either suspended or overturned by the courts. Khan, however, remains in jail on new charges brought against him regarding the illegal sale of gifts from a state repository while he was prime minister from 2018-22.
Television footage showed caravans of Khan supporters arriving in Lahore from various cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where the PTI has been in power, and elsewhere in Punjab to attend the rally, with long queues of vehicles forming on sections of the Islamabad-Lahore motorway reportedly due to road closures. Most of Lahore remained open for traffic but access to a main thoroughfare, the Ring Road, leading to the venue, was blocked at a few locations as preparations were ongoing for Saturday’s rally.
“Our demands are simple, only that the rule of law applies to Imran Khan’s cases,” Salman Akram Raja, PTI secretary-general, told Arab News. “Most [of the cases] have been discarded, so will the rest, as will the arrest.”
“There’s no basis for detaining the most popular political leader in the country,” he continued, adding: “History is on our side.”
Naeem Haider Panjutha, Khan’s spokesperson on legal affairs, also sought justice for the ex-premier.
“The gross miscarriage of justice carries on for over a year now, we will keep fighting till our party leader is free,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Punjab provincial administration warned PTI leaders and workers not to indulge in any lawlessness.
“Nobody will be allowed to [violate the law],” Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari said at a presser Saturday afternoon. “Organizers are responsible of ending the rally by 6pm.”
Bokhari criticized the Khan-backed KP government for allegedly utilizing public resources for the rally and said the gathering could not help get him out of prison. She signaled to the possible arrest of suspects wanted in cases related to violence during PTI protests in May last year.
“The Punjab administration, under the supervision of the chief minister, is fully monitoring everything in the city and the province from the beginning of this rally till it disperses,” the minister said.
Only a day earlier, the PTI complained of a crackdown on supporters ahead of the rally, saying authorities had arrested dozens of PTI members and supporters. Punjab Police Director of Public Relations Syed Mubashar Hussain declined to comment on the arrests.
The PTI says it has faced an over year-long crackdown since protesters allegedly linked to the party attacked and damaged government and military installations on May 9, 2023 after Khan’s brief arrest that day in a land graft case. Hundreds of PTI followers and leaders were arrested following the riots and many remain behind bars as they await trial. The military has also initiated army court trials of at least 103 people accused of involvement in the violence.
The party says it was not allowed to campaign freely ahead of Feb. 8 general elections, a vote marred by a mobile Internet shutdown on election day and unusually delayed results, leading to accusations that it was rigged and drawing concern from rights groups and foreign governments.
The PTI says it won the most seats, but its mandate was “stolen” by the coalition led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, which it says formed the government with the backing of the all-powerful military. Both deny the claim.
Thousands attend Lahore rally to demand Imran Khan’s release from prison
https://arab.news/8fhp3
Thousands attend Lahore rally to demand Imran Khan’s release from prison
- TV footage showed caravans of Khan supporters leaving various cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab for Lahore
- Khan’s party shared footage of long queues of vehicles on Islamabad-Lahore motorway reportedly due to road closures
Pakistan says responding to Afghan ‘offensive operations’ after border fire as tensions escalate
- Afghan Taliban spokesperson says “large-scale offensive operations” launched against Pakistani military bases
- Pakistan says Afghan forces opened “unprovoked” fire across multiple sectors along shared border
ISLAMABAD: Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities said on Thursday they had launched “large-scale offensive operations” against Pakistani military bases and installations, prompting Pakistan to say its forces were responding to what it described as unprovoked fire along the shared border.
The escalation follows Islamabad’s weekend airstrikes targeting what it said were Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Daesh militant camps inside Afghanistan in response to a wave of recent bombings and attacks in Pakistan. Islamabad said the strikes killed over 100 militants, while Kabul said dozens of civilians were killed and condemned the attacks as a violation of its sovereignty.
In a post on social media platform X, Afghan government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said Afghanistan had launched “large-scale offensive operations” in response to repeated violations by the Pakistani military.
Pakistan’s Ministry of Information said Afghan forces had initiated hostilities along multiple points of the frontier.
“Afghan Taliban regime unprovoked action along the Pakistan–Afghanistan border given an immediate, and effective response,” the ministry said in a statement.
The statement said Pakistani forces were targeting Taliban positions in the Chitral, Khyber, Mohmand, Kurram and Bajaur sectors, claiming heavy Afghan casualties and the destruction of multiple posts and equipment. It added that Pakistan would take all necessary measures to safeguard its territorial integrity and the security of its citizens.
Separately, security officials said Pakistani forces had carried out counterattacks in several border sectors.
“Pakistan’s security forces are giving a befitting reply to the unprovoked Afghan aggression with full force,” a security official said, declining to be named.
“The Pakistani security forces’ counter-attack destroyed Taliban’s hideouts and the Khawarij fled,” they added, referring to TTP militants.
The claims from both sides could not be independently verified.
Cross-border violence has intensified in recent weeks, with Pakistan blaming a surge in suicide bombings and militant attacks on militants it says are based in Afghanistan. Kabul denies providing safe havens to anti-Pakistan militant groups.
The clashes mark the third major escalation between the neighbors in less than a year. Similar Pakistani strikes last year triggered weeklong clashes before Qatar, Türkiye and other regional actors mediated a ceasefire in October.
The 2,600-kilometer (1,600-mile) frontier, a key trade and transit corridor linking Pakistan to landlocked Afghanistan and onward to Central Asia, has faced repeated closures amid tensions, disrupting commerce and humanitarian movement. Trade between the two nations has remained closed since October 2025.
