ISLAMABAD (Web-Desk); Jailed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder and former prime minister Imran Khan has expressed serious concern over the lack of momentum behind the party’s upcoming nationwide protest planned for August 5, warning party members to immediately put aside their internal disputes and focus solely on the campaign.
Khan, who has been incarcerated at Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail since August 2023 in connection with a £190 million corruption case, is also facing multiple other charges, including those under the Anti-Terrorism Act related to the May 9 riots. The August 5 protest is intended to mark two years since the beginning of his legal troubles and, according to Khan, should serve as the symbolic climax of the party’s struggle for justice.
However, confusion and disagreement among party leadership have cast a shadow over the protest campaign. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur disrupted the narrative by proposing a 90-day timeline for what he termed a “final push,” which deviated from the August 5 call and created friction within the party ranks. His remarks were met with public concern from PTI Punjab organiser Aliya Hamza Malik, further exposing internal divisions.
In light of these disagreements, Khan has ordered a halt to any public airing of internal party matters. Through a statement posted on PTI’s official X (formerly Twitter) account operated by party aides — a message was relayed on Khan’s behalf urging unity and commitment.
“Let me be absolutely clear,” the statement read. “Every member must immediately stop internal wrangling and fully commit to the August 5 movement. I see no significant build-up as of now. I am fighting against a deeply entrenched 78-year-old system, and despite brutal suppression, the public’s trust remains with us.”
Khan emphasized that the February general elections, where PTI-affiliated independents won a significant number of seats without even having an electoral symbol, reflect the people’s faith in his vision. He urged party members to honor this mandate, warning that infighting at such a critical time would be both disgraceful and unacceptable.
“Anyone found engaging in factionalism will be removed from the party. I have made sacrifices for the future of our youth, and undermining that mission from within is a betrayal,” he stated.
Taking aim at the government, Khan accused it of attacking the judiciary through the controversial 26th Constitutional Amendment. He claimed the judiciary had been “paralyzed,” and that verdicts were being delivered by “biased judges” under political pressure. He called for a powerful campaign to restore judicial independence, asserting that no country could function or thrive without it.
The statement also highlighted the harsh prison conditions both he and his wife, Bushra Bibi, are enduring. Khan claimed his own jail conditions are some of the most inhumane in the country’s history.
“I’m not even provided clean water for ablution. My imprisonment is not for personal gain but for the supremacy of the Constitution and the nation’s future,” he said.
Meanwhile, PTI’s deputy information secretary confirmed that the August 5 protest would be held under the broader platform of the opposition alliance, Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP). Provincial chapters of the party will organize protests in line with their local dynamics, he added.
As part of the lead-up to the movement, TTAP will host an all-party conference in Islamabad on July 31. Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, speaking alongside other TTAP leaders, said the conference would define the protest’s next steps.
Separately, Imran Khan’s sons, currently in the United States, met Republican Congressman Joe Wilson and Democrat Brad Sherman. Wilson had earlier tabled a bipartisan bill seeking sanctions against Pakistani officials over alleged human rights violations against Khan.
Sherman, after the meeting, said he was “concerned” about Khan’s isolation from family, lawyers, and doctors, and noted that his health may be declining. “Pakistan’s people deserve leaders who are treated justly under the law,” Sherman said in a post on X.
