Supporters of jailed ex-PM Imran Khan march to Pakistan capital

ByKelly Ng and BBC Urdu.

Key points

• Khan, who previously captained the Pakistan national cricket team, served as the country's prime minister from 2018 to 2022.
• On 20 September, Khan's sister Aleema Khanum was arrested in the eastern city of Lahore.
• Former international cricket captains have created a number of appeals to Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif urging Khan be accorded proper medical care.
• This person faces charges in more than 100 cases, was jailed for 14 years over corruption last year.
• Thousands of supporters of Pakistan's jailed ex-prime minister Imran Khan are marching to the capital Islamabad as they call for his release.

Reservations over the 73-year-old's health have grown louder in recent months. His family claims he has lost most of his vision in his right eye after prison authorities failed to take action.

Notably, the cricket star-turned-politician. This person faces charges in more than 100 cases, was jailed for 14 years over corruption last year. Khan remarked all the cases against him are politically motivated.

Even behind bars, he remains a force in Pakistani politics, and demonstrations in backing for him have led to deadly violence and crackdowns previously.

Sunday's march, which began in Lakki Marwat, a city 275km away from Islamabad, had paused for the night and is projected to resume around midday local time on Monday.

Originally scheduled for last week, it was postponed to allow for discussions between the administration and Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party but the discussions concluded in a deadlock.

Khan was imprisoned in August 2023 and has faced charges in more than 100 cases, ranging from leaking state secrets to selling state gifts – all of which he has remarked are politically motivated.

Sohail Afridi, chief minister for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province ruled by PTI, expects that the march will create its way to a town concerning 80km (50 miles) west of Islamabad by Thursday.

" this movement will have reached every corner of the country and every square will have become a centre of activity, " he remarked on Sunday, urging the residents to "play an active role in the political process".

Authorities in Islamabad have stacked up shipping containers to block key access routes to the capital city.

In practice, the PTI remarked negotiations with administration failed as authorities rejected the party's request for access to Khan so that its leaders could consult him on national and political problems.

Notably, the party additionally stated it had demanded that Khan be given an immediate medical examination and treatment.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi meanwhile accused Afridi of "sabotaging" negotiations, saying the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa administration had backed out of earlier commitments on counter-terrorism matters, according to Pakistan's local media reports.

In August, Khan was briefly transferred from jail to a state-run hospital for medical examination and treatment after complaints concerning his deteriorating health. The doctors afterwards deemed him "medically fit".

In practice, the intervention was the most significant relief Khan has received from the courts since he was imprisoned in 2023 on corruption charges. It he notes were politically motivated.

Khan's family and the PTI, nevertheless, criticised the authorities for defying a court order that he be examined by physicians at a specific private hospital.

Notably, the arrest order remarked Khanum had been mobilising residents to "create law and order situations" and "raising/chanting objectionable slogans amongst the general public against the Government".

His jailing triggered large-scale protests by supporters. It were met with a crackdown by authorities.

For now, supporters of jailed ex-PM Imran Khan march to Pakistan capital remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.