Thousands of supporters of Pakistan's imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan rallied on the outskirts of the capital, Islamabad, on Sunday, demanding his release. He has been in prison for more than a year in connection with more than 150 police cases.
The demonstration, led by Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, is the largest in Islamabad since the retired international cricketer was jailed last year on several charges, some of them still before the courts.
Protesters cleared containers used by Pakistani authorities to block major roads into Islamabad on Sunday before the demonstration.
"They closed the city with containers. But despite this, thousands are here. They cannot stop this motivation and emotions the people have right now," Humayun Mohmand, a PTI senator, told AFP.
Khan's spokesman, Zulfi Bukhari, issued a statement denouncing the police action against his "peaceful" supporters.
"God willing, we will secure the release of Imran Khan soon," said Ali Amin, the top elected official in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, addressing the rally.
He gave the government an ultimatum of two weeks for his leader's release.
In jail since August 2023, Khan insists, along with his party, that the charges against him are designed to prevent him from returning to office.
Backed by the military, which wields enormous influence, he rose to power in 2018 by standing against widespread corruption embedded in the country's revolving door of dynastic politics.
Khan, the main rival of current Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, remains a popular figure despite these cases, which critics and his party say are politically motivated. He was ousted in 2022 through a no-confidence vote in parliament.
That furthered a sense of helplessness and frustration among many Pakistanis who want the generals to stay out of politics in a country that has been ruled by the military on and off for much of its history and where a civilian prime minister has never served a full term.
Khan's first arrest, on corruption charges in May 2023, sparked nationwide demonstrations by supporters expressing anger at the army. In response, the army orchestrated a massive crackdown on the PTI.