Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Announces New Phase Of Street Protests In Lahore

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Friday declared that it would begin a new phase of street agitation in Lahore, starting with a public event at the Liberty Roundabout.

The party plans to welcome Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi as part of the mobilisation, according to local media reports.

Addressing the media, PTI Punjab chief organiser Aliya Hamza Malik said the party would launch a ‘mass protest movement’ on the instructions of PTI founder Imran Khan. She appealed to party ticket-holders, office-bearers, workers and lawyers in Lahore to be present at Liberty Roundabout to participate in the gathering.

Calling on party members to play an active role, Malik said the movement aimed at ‘restoring the constitution, law and democracy in the country’.

Describing the planned event as historic, she stated that PTI intended to turn Lahore’s main boulevard into a march demanding the release of Imran Khan.

Imran Khan has remained incarcerated since August 2023 and is currently lodged at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi. He is serving a 14-year sentence in a £190 million corruption case and is also facing pending trials under the Anti-Terrorism Act related to the protests of May 9, 2023.

Alongside him, his wife, Bushra Bibi, is serving a seven-year prison sentence in the same corruption case.

The continued imprisonment of the former prime minister and his spouse has remained a key rallying point for PTI supporters across the country.

Toshakhana-II Case and Legal Challenges

Last week, Imran Khan called for nationwide protests and announced his intention to challenge the verdict in the Toshakhana-II case before the Islamabad High Court. His remarks came shortly after a court sentenced him and Bushra Bibi to 17 years in prison in the same case.

The Toshakhana-II case centres on the alleged purchase of an expensive jewellery set gifted to Imran Khan by the Saudi Crown Prince during an official visit in May 2021.

Investigators claim that Imran Khan obtained the item at a nominal price in violation of established rules.

Delivering the verdict, Judge Central Shahrukh Arjumand of the Federal Investigation Agency’s special court pronounced the sentence during proceedings held at Adiala Jail.

Under the ruling, Imran Khan received a cumulative 17-year sentence, including 10 years under various provisions of the Pakistan Penal Code and seven years under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Amid mounting legal challenges, PTI’s decision to launch a mass protest movement reflects an effort to revive political momentum.

The proposed Lahore mobilisation is expected to serve as a test of the party’s ability to sustain street pressure while its leadership remains behind bars.

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