• Planned protest will be of “different nature”: Barrister Gohar.
• Says PTI, allies to jointly announce future course of action.
• Condemns continued imprisonment of Imran Khan, Bushra Bibi.
  

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) parliamentary party has decided to hold nationwide rallies on August 5, party chief Barrister Gohar Ali Khan announced on Wednesday.

“Our meeting had one agenda, but the entire national situation came under discussion,” he said during a press conference after the meeting.

Barrister Gohar said that the parliamentary party had resolved to organise rallies across the country on August 5, the day PTI founder and former prime minister Imran Khan was arrested in 2023 after a court sentenced him to three years in prison for selling state gifts.

According to the PTI chief, the parliamentary party condemned the continued imprisonment of Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi.

“Every PTI member of the assembly believes the [PTI] founder’s imprisonment is unjust,” he said, adding that the party had approached the courts but decisions on its appeals had yet to be announced.

According to Barrister Gohar, the PTI political committee and the opposition alliance will jointly announce the future course of action.

Referring to the planned rallies, he said the upcoming protest would be of a different nature this time.

Khan has been jailed since August 2023 after convictions he and his PTI call politically motivated. Since his 2022 ouster in a no-confidence vote, he has faced multiple cases ranging from corruption to terrorism.

Some convictions have been suspended or overturned, with appeals pending. He denies wrongdoing.

Barrister Gohar’s announcement came after PTI founder’s sister, Aleema Khan, called on workers to intensify efforts for Khan’s release.

Addressing PTI workers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Lower Dir on July 12, Aleema had said that the time had come for PTI to seek justice and accountability.

She urged PTI workers to remain organised and continue their efforts in accordance with the party leadership’s directions for Khan’s release.

Aleema also asked party workers to force their party lawmakers to come out of their homes and fully participate in the anti-government movement across the country.

Khan’s family and the PTI have long raised concerns over his health and the alleged lack of basic necessities in Adiala jail.

Last month, the former premier was brought to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) for a scheduled follow-up eye treatment, where doctors administered him fifth intravitreal injection.

According to a statement issued by the Pims administration, the 74-year-old politician underwent the procedure as part of ongoing treatment for an eye condition that has required a series of intravitreal injections.

The jailed PTI founder was diagnosed with central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO), a serious eye condition, according to a report submitted to the Supreme Court by his lawyer and the court’s amicus curiae, Salman Safdar.

The condition occurs when the main vein draining blood from the retina becomes blocked and is often associated with cardiovascular risk factors such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and heart disease.