PTI Launches August 5 Movement for Imran Khan’s Release
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan announced on Tuesday that his party will begin a formal nationwide movement on August 5 seeking the release of former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi. His remarks came as PTI prepared to mark three years since its founder was imprisoned in August 2023.
Speaking to journalists, Gohar claimed that no leader heading a major Pakistani political party had remained incarcerated continuously for three years since the country’s independence. He compared Imran’s imprisonment with the detention of other prominent political figures and argued that the duration made the former premier’s case exceptional in Pakistan’s political history.
Gohar said the planned campaign would remain active until Imran and Bushra were released. He rejected suggestions that PTI was creating any organised enforcement group, explaining that the party had sought volunteers only to participate in what he described as a peaceful political movement conducted within constitutional limits.
The PTI chairman also addressed the recently held elections in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, defending his party’s boycott decision. He claimed that the choice had been made after consultation with residents and argued that low voter participation demonstrated public dissatisfaction with the electoral process and the prevailing political environment.
Gohar criticised the multiphase format adopted for the AJK polls, describing it as constitutionally questionable and unsuitable for a credible election. He maintained that a genuine democratic exercise requires the participation of all major parties and broad public engagement, while also accusing the outgoing AJK administration of failing to deliver effective governance.
On the possibility of negotiations, Gohar said PTI was not currently engaged in political contact with the government, the Pakistan Peoples Party or Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman. He cautioned that treating negotiations merely as a symbolic offer would not resolve the deepening disputes between the opposition and those managing the political system.
The party leader warned that continued confrontation could raise political temperatures and create risks for national cohesion. He said those holding authority had a responsibility to bring all sides together, begin meaningful consultations and find a political solution instead of allowing disagreements to become more entrenched.
Imran has remained imprisoned since August 2023 while facing convictions and proceedings in several cases. PTI has consistently described the prosecutions as politically motivated, an allegation rejected by the government and state authorities, which maintain that the former prime minister’s legal matters are being handled through the courts.
The August 5 campaign is expected to become a fresh test of PTI’s organisational strength and the government’s approach to opposition activity. Party leaders are likely to announce further protest plans and mobilisation details, while authorities will closely monitor public gatherings, security conditions and compliance with legal restrictions across the country.