More than 100 supporters of former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan were arrested after protests across the country marking three years since his imprisonment, as his sons voiced concerns over his health and access to family members.
The demonstrations, led by Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), were met with a police crackdown in several cities, including Lahore, Rawalpindi and Mianwali, according to PTI and local media reports. Videos circulating on social media showed riot police dispersing protesters, while some journalists covering the rallies were also allegedly assaulted.
At the party's main gathering in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Suhail Afridi announced that PTI would organise a march to Islamabad on Sept. 27 if the party's demands were not met.
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"We are seeking justice, not charity," Afridi said, adding that PTI had exhausted all legal and judicial options and would now exercise its constitutional right to peaceful protest.
The party is demanding early hearings in the cases against Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, and restoration of their access to lawyers, doctors, relatives and party leaders.
Khan, who has been in prison since Aug. 5, 2023, faces multiple criminal cases. PTI maintains the cases are politically motivated, an allegation denied by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's government.
Separately, CNN reported that Khan's sons, Kasim Khan and Sulaiman Isa Khan, said they were increasingly worried about their father's condition, claiming they had been unable to see him because family members, lawyers and doctors had allegedly been denied access for months.
"We have no updates because his family, doctors and lawyers haven't been allowed to see him for seven months," they told CNN from London.
The brothers also claimed Pakistani authorities had delayed or complicated efforts to travel to Pakistan, alleging administrative hurdles had prevented them from visiting their father.
Pakistan's Ministry of Information rejected those claims, telling CNN that both sons hold National Identity Cards for Overseas Pakistanis and therefore do not require visas to enter the country. The ministry described their allegations as "misleading" and said Khan's access to family and legal counsel had not been abolished but regulated under prison rules and court orders.
The government also disputed allegations about Khan's health, saying he remains in stable condition, receives regular medical care and is housed in a dedicated prison compound with adequate facilities.
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Meanwhile, Amnesty International urged Pakistani authorities to restore Khan's and Bushra Bibi's access to family members, lawyers and medical care.
"For three years, Pakistan's authorities have systematically denied Imran Khan the right to a fair trial, subjected him to prolonged solitary confinement, and limited his access to medical care and visitation rights," Acting Regional Director for South Asia Isabelle Lassee told to CNN.
PTI has vowed to continue nationwide protests, with its planned Islamabad march likely to intensify political pressure on the Sharif government in the coming weeks.
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