ISLAMABAD: The opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) said on Thursday it was canceling a planned rally in the city of Rawalpindi on Sept. 28 on the instructions of party founder and ex-premier Imran Khan, and would hold a peaceful protest instead on the same day.

Following rallies this month in Islamabad and Lahore, the PTI announced this week it would hold public gatherings in Rawalpindi and Lahore on Sept. 28 and Oct. 5 respectively to build pressure for Khan’s release. The ex-PM has been in jail since August last year on multiple charges including corruption, sedition and terrorism. Khan says the cases against him are politically motivated to keep him and his party away from politics. 

“On instructions of founding Chairman PTI, Imran Khan, the Rawalpindi Jalsa on Sept 28th is canceled and there will be a peaceful protest instead,” the PTI party said in a statement on Thursday. “More details will be shared soon.”

The PTI’s last two rallies were not without complications. The Sept. 8 rally in Islamabad was first planned for July and then August but was postponed both times as the party was denied permission to hold it by the district administration which cited security threats and a lack of resources to manage large gatherings. 

After the Islamabad rally, a number of PTI legislators were arrested on charges of violating an agreement on the basis of which permission for the rally was given, including abiding by a time limit and supporters sticking to certain routes to reach the designated venue for the rally on Islamabad’s outskirts. 

Last Saturday’s gathering in Lahore also came to an abrupt end after authorities cut off electricity supply to the venue after the 3-6pm deadline expired. 

Khan’s party says the challenges in holding rallies are part of an over year-long crackdown it has faced since protesters allegedly linked to the party attacked and damaged government and military installations on May 9, 2023, after the former premier’s brief arrest the same 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, which says Khan and his party were behind the attacks, has also initiated army court trials of at least 103 people accused of involvement in the violence.

Khan, who has been in jail since last August, was ousted from the PM’s office in 2022 in a parliamentary vote of no confidence after what is widely believed to be a falling out with Pakistan’s powerful military, which denies being involved in politics.