Lahore/Islamabad/Rawalpindi/Peshawar, August 5, 2025: Lahore police on Tuesday detained more than 30 Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) activists as the party launched a nationwide protest movement calling for the release of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, who has now spent two years in prison.
Imran Khan has been incarcerated since August 5, 2023, in a case related to the misuse of state gifts and is currently serving a sentence at Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail in connection with a £190 million corruption case. He also faces multiple terrorism-related charges linked to the violent May 9, 2023, protests.
In a statement attributed to Imran, he called on supporters to take to the streets, declaring that the “movement that begins on August 5 will continue until democracy is restored in its true spirit.” However, PTI leader Asad Qaiser clarified that while this was the beginning of the protest drive, it should not be interpreted as a “final call.”
Lahore Deputy Inspector General (Operations) Faisal Kamran said that over 30 PTI workers were detained for attempting to block roads at various points in the city. He denied reports that hundreds had been arrested.
At around 1 PM, the PTI claimed that senior party figure Rehana Dar had been arrested by police in Lahore. “An elder like Rehana Dar is being dragged by the shameless Punjab Police, a disgraceful sight,” the PTI posted on its official X (formerly Twitter) account. The party also released a video showing Dar—who had contested the 2024 general elections in Sialkot against PML-N’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif—being dragged into a police van by officers in riot gear.
The PTI condemned the arrest, accusing Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz and Inspector General Dr. Usman Anwar of “sinking to a new low” and “abandoning all sense of shame and decency.”
PTI’s Insaf Youth Wing President for North Punjab, Raja Shahbaz Bhatti, claimed on X that he was injured during a police crackdown and that four others were arrested. In Balochistan, PTI provincial president Dawood Shah Kakar said five party leaders and several workers were arrested in Kohlu district during a protest gathering.
Meanwhile, PTI’s Multan chapter alleged that its protest rally in Lahore was “attacked” by police, damaging several vehicles. Shared visuals showed a car with its rear window shattered.
Asad Qaiser also claimed that police raids had been launched across Punjab and Azad Jammu and Kashmir. PTI Punjab media cell head Shayan Bashir alleged that approximately 200 raids had been carried out, with arrested workers released only after submitting affidavits.
Crackdown around Adiala Jail
Ahead of the scheduled protests near Adiala Jail, where Imran is being held, the Rawalpindi administration-imposed Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, banning all gatherings in the district until August 10, citing an “imminent threat.”
Despite the ban, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja, Tehreek Tahafuz Ayin-i-Pakistan (TTAP) chief Mahmood Achakzai, MNA Shandana Gulzar, and other leaders headed toward the jail at around 3 PM. “We will record our protest under any circumstance as it is our constitutional right,” Achakzai stated on X.
However, the group was stopped by Punjab police en route. A video posted by TTAP showed Achakzai confronting officers, one of whom was heard saying, “This route is closed.”
In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur was seen preparing to lead a rally in Peshawar, with a stage container set up for the event. The PTI also posted videos of rallies and convoys emerging from Peshawar, Mansehra, and other cities en route to Swabi.
In a related development, former Azad Jammu and Kashmir Prime Minister Sardar Abdul Qayyum Niazi—recently released from detention under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) Ordinance—also led a rally.
Meanwhile, Former PTI leaders Asad Umar and Fawad Chaudhry, both of whom distanced themselves from the party after the May 9 riots, voiced concern over Imran’s continued incarceration.
Umar stated on X: “Even two years after Imran Khan’s imprisonment, the anti-Khan narrative hasn’t gained traction. The public sees his detention as political, not legal.” He urged national leaders to sit with PTI and chart a constitutional way forward to resolve the ongoing political crisis.
Chaudhry echoed the sentiment, stating that Imran was imprisoned “just for the sake of democracy in Pakistan and people’s sovereignty.”
