Thousands of Imran supporters rally to demand his release.

PESHAWAR: Thousands of supporters of Pakistan’s imprisoned former prime minister rallied Monday in the country’s volatile northwest to mark the first anniversary of his arrest and demand his immediate release, officials said.

The protest is part of Imram Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf or PTI opposition party’s campaign aimed at pressuring the current government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to free him without any further delay.

The rally was held in Swabi, a city in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province where Khan’s party rules.

More than 10,000 supporters of Khan were seen waving the party’s flags and chanting slogans in his favor in Swabi. Top party leaders in their speeches told the demonstrators that Khan would soon be among them, though they did not elaborate.

It was one of the biggest protests since 2022 when Khan was ousted in a no-confidence vote in the parliament.