ISLAMABAD: Jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party is holding a rally in Islamabad today, Sunday, to press authorities for the release of the ex-premier, who has been facing a slew of cases.
Khan, who has been in jail since August on charges of corruption, treason and attempting to incite a mutiny in the military, has waged an unprecedented campaign of defiance against Pakistan’s military since his ouster in a parliamentary no-trust vote in April 2022.
He has accused the then army leadership of orchestrating his ouster together with his political rivals as part of a United States-backed “foreign conspiracy.” The military, Khan’s rivals and Washington have repeatedly denied this.
His PTI party aims to mobilize the public for the release of the former cricket star who has a devoted following, but has struggled to hold rallies across the country. The party this week said it got permission for the rally in Islamabad, which was canceled twice in recent months.
“We are holding this rally as per the law and the constitution,” PTI member Aamir Dogar was quoted as saying by the party on X. “Efforts should not be made to prevent it.”

The party has also announced simultaneous protests outside the Pakistani embassy in London and in other parts of the world.
“Everyone must attend the all important protest tomorrow in London outside the Pakistan embassy,” Sayed Zulfikar Bukhari said on X. “It will be a historic turnout in Islamabad, London and world over. This is the beginning of our peaceful protests in Pakistan and world over. It’s a duty upon us to stand up.”

The PTI says it has been facing a state-backed crackdown and the mass arrest of its members and supporters for standing by Khan. Pakistani authorities deny the allegations.
The action against the PTI began after people carrying its party flags attacked and damaged government and military installations on May 9, 2023, after Khan’s brief arrest that day in a graft case.
Hundreds of PTI workers and leaders were arrested following the May 9 riots and many remain behind bars as they await trial. The military has also initiated trials of at least 103 people accused of involvement in the violence.
Khan recently made a “conditional” offer of talks to the army, if “clean and transparent” elections were held and the “bogus” cases against his supporters were dropped. The military, which has repeatedly said Khan and his party were behind the May 9 attacks, has ruled out any talks with him.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s head coach Gary Kirsten will be scouting for cricketing talent in the upcoming Champions Cup, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said on Saturday, following a series of dismal performances by the national side.
Pakistan have been left reeling after their first-ever Test series loss to Bangladesh this month, the latest in a string of poor performances which have seen the game hit rock bottom.
The cricket-mad nation was left in despair after losing the second Test in Rawalpindi by six wickets on Tuesday as Bangladesh swept the series 2-0. It was the 10th winless home Test in a row for former powerhouses Pakistan.
However, the PCB has set its sights on the inaugural Champions One-Day Cup, due to take place at Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad from September 12 to 29, to find new cricketing talent in the country.
“Pakistan’s white-ball head coach Gary Kirsten will be arriving on 12 September to witness the entire Champions One-Day Cup and it will surely be exciting for him to work in the domestic circuit in order to look into the young talent with an eye on the upcoming white-ball assignments in Australia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, followed by the home tri-national series and the ICC Champions Trophy 2025,” Nadeem Khan, a senior PCB official, was quoted as saying by the board.
“The Champions One-Day Cup will help us unearth future white-ball prospects for the Pakistan’s white-ball teams, also marking the start of the preparation for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025. Having the Champions Cup in September will allow us to give an extended opportunity to the top performers of this tournament in International cricket before the mega-event commences home.”
Team mentors of the five sides in the tournament include Misbah-ul-Haq (Wolves), Saqlain Mushtaq (Panthers), Sarfaraz Ahmed (Dolphins), Shoaib Malik (Stallions) and Waqar Younis (Lions). The PCB also announced captains and provisional squads on Friday.
The tournament featuring top players from across the country will be a 50-over competition played on a single-league format. All matches will start at 3pm, except for the match between Lions and Panthers on September 16, which will begin at 9:30am.
Pakistan’s loss to Bangladesh came hard on the heels of chastening losses against Afghanistan and the USA in the ODI and T20 World Cups respectively.
Pakistan also have a dismal record in Tests at home in the past three years — six defeats and four draws, including England’s first-ever 3-0 series sweep there in 2022.
Ominously, in-form England are Pakistan’s next visitors and will play three Tests beginning in Multan on October 7.
Pakistan are not faring any better away from home and lost all three Tests in Australia earlier this year — their sixth successive whitewash there since 1999.
Analysts say frequent changes at the top of the PCB, which has had five chairmen in the past three years, have impeded progress. There have also been constant switches of captains and coaching staff while the domestic system of tournaments has had countless overhauls.
PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi himself called for “surgery in the system” after the T20 World Cup exit.
“We need to fix our problems,” he said last month. “But when we look at how to resolve them, we don’t have any solid data or player pool which we can draw from.”
Ex-skipper Wasim Akram echoed Naqvi’s analysis.
“The quality of our cricket has gone down with no grassroots activity, so we do not have proper back-ups,” he said recently. “We have a lot to work on.”