PESHAWAR: Activists of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf blocked roads and staged protest demonstrations in different parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Friday over the ‘loss of Imran Khan’s vision’ amid demands for his immediate release from jail.

They also blocked busy roads in their respective districts, shouting slogans against the federal government and state institutions.

Led by PTI district president Irfan Saleem, Senator Khuram Zeshan and deputy information secretary Ikram Khattana, the party activists blocked the Peshawar-Islamabad Motorway near toll plaza in Peshawar.

They later went to Swabi where PTI workers and leaders from other districts gathered at the motorway interchange.

Demand their leader’s immediate release from jail

They blocked the motorway to traffic, demanding that the federal government withdraw all cases against Imran for his release.

The protesters said they wouldn’t reopen the motorway until their leader was freed.

They, mostly youngsters, were led by PTI district president Sohail Khan Yousafzai and general secretary Afsar Khan.

The protesters said that the federal government had submitted a report to the Supreme Court while saying that Imran’s right eye has only 15 per cent vision due to negligence of authorities.

They complained their leader was denied treatment by a good physician.

The activists of PTI and Insaf Students Federation staged a protest in Dera Ismail Khan city on the call of the party’s central leadership, blocking key roads and disrupting traffic for several hours on Friday.

The protesters set up sit-ins at Darya Khan bridge and Qureshi Morr, suspending vehicular movement on the main artery linking Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with Punjab. As a result, long queues of vehicles were seen on both sides of the road, causing inconvenience to commuters and transporters.

Chanting slogans in support of the party’s founding chairman, the demonstrators demanded his release and expressed concern over his health.

The protesters said their demonstration was peaceful and in line with the party’s nationwide protest call.

Police contingents and district administration officials reached the sites and held negotiations with the protesters. Officials later moved to clear the roads, restoring traffic in phases.

According to police, Darya Khan bridge was reopened for all kinds of traffic, while flow at Qureshi Mor remained suspended for some time before being fully restored.

In Bajaur, the Insaf Students Federation staged a protest demonstration outside the press club and called for Imran’s immediate release on health grounds.

The participants, led by ISF provincial leader Shah Hassan Khanzada, expressed concern over Imran’s ‘vision loss’ and held the federal government and Adiala Jail authorities responsible for it.

The speakers, including Shah Hasan Khanzada, ISF district president Luqman Shah, Abdul Salam, Hazrat Habib and Abdur Raouf, condemned the denial of health facilities to Imran and said the conduct of authorities was against prison law and a violation of human rights.

The participants shouted slogans against the federal government and Adiala Jail authorities for not providing Imran with an access to personal doctors.

In the Mohmand tribal district, PTI supporters staged a sit-in outside the press club after Friday prayers, condemning the imprisonment of the party’s founder.

They alleged that Imran had been “unjustly” jailed and faced serious risks to his health and life in custody.

Shouting slogans and carrying party flags, demonstrators blocked the Peshawar-Bajaur Highway, halting traffic for several hours to the inconvenience of travellers.

Addressing charged protesters, Lower Mohmand PTI leader Naveed Ahmad, general secretary Jamdad Khan and leaders Mohtaram Khan, Javed Khan, Malik Jahanzeb Khan, Amirullah junadi,Fakhar Alam Mohmand, Raz Mohammad and Qari Rahim Shah accused authorities of denying Khan “proper medical care and restricting his access to family and party leaders”.

They warned that if the party leadership called for a demonstration outside Adiala Jail where Imran was kept, PTI workers from Mohmand would go there for a “decisive and historic protest”.

Published in Dawn, February 14th, 2026