ISLAMABAD: The PTI parliamentary party decided to launch a nationwide movement from August 5 for the release of party chief Imran Khan and acceptance of other demands. The day will mark the completion of the former prime minister’s third year in prison.

The decision was made at a meeting — chaired by party’s interim chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan — held at Khyber Pakhtunkhwa House in the federal capital. During the meeting, the PTI lawmakers discussed matters related to the party’s parliamentary affairs.

PTI General Secretary Salman Akram Raja, while talking to Dawn, said that the meeting decided to pick August 5 to launch its movement, which will include public meetings, demonstrations, and a long march. “It was also decided that Mehmood Khan Achakzai and Allama Raja Nasir Abbas’s opinions will be sought for finalising the protest plans and other activities,” he added.

At a press conference, Barrister Gohar Ali Khan said that the meeting discussed the health of the ex-PM and his spouse Bushra Bibi. He said August 5 would mark the completion of three years of the PTI founder’s imprisonment, adding that rallies would be held across the country to mark the occasion.

Gohar says rallies will be held to mark third year of Imran’s arrest

According to the PTI leader, Imran Khan was not receiving justice from the courts and oppression and injustice in the country must come to an end.

Standing committees

Separately, the PTI also rejected media reports which claimed the party had decided to end its boycott of the parliamentary standing committee.

PTI Chief Whip in the National Assembly Malik Amir said that the party’s decision to boycott the standing committees remained unchanged and that the party would continue to “stand by its principled position”.

He rejected reports suggesting that the National Assembly Secretariat had been informed of a decision to end the boycott, describing such reports as inaccurate. He reiterated that the boycott was started on the instructions of PTI founder Imran Khan.

“Any decision to either end or continue the boycott will be made only after a meeting and consultation with the founding chairman,” he said.

Meeting with Imran

In another development, PTI lawyer Advocate Awais Younas Chaudhry submitted a list of six leaders to the Adiala jail administration for a meeting with Imran today. The list has the names of Haji Amanullah Awan, Muhammad Shahid Ali Chahan, Syed Hamid Ihsan, Sajjad Ali Butt, Noman Mughal and Aqsa Hayyat Lali.

Published in Dawn, July 16th, 2026