Islamabad: Police have arrested at least 120 workers of Pakistan’s main opposition party in raids overnight, security officials said, ahead of protests planned for Tuesday, the second anniversary of the jailing of their leader, Imran Khan. Most of the detentions, made on Monday night and early on Tuesday, were in the eastern city of Lahore, where Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party vowed its biggest demonstration, as well as protests elsewhere.

According to TRTworld.com, at least 200 workers had been arrested from Lahore, said party spokesperson Zulfikar Bukhari, adding that the protest would go ahead. Khan’s party had always created “chaos,” Uzma Bukhari, a spokesperson of the provincial government, told a press conference on Monday. “No political party can be barred from politics in Pakistan, but a terrorist organisation disguised as a political party is not allowed to disrupt Pakistan’s peace,” Bukhari added.

In a message attributed to Khan on his party’s X account on Monday, he urged supporters to “come out and hold peaceful protests until a true democracy is restored in the country.” The former cricket star was elected prime minister in 2018 but was ousted in 2022 through a vote in parliament. His arrest in May 2023 sparked nationwide protests.

Khan, who denies any wrongdoing, dismisses as politically motivated the dozens of cases against him, ranging from terrorism to disclosure of official secrets. He was convicted in January in a corruption case, while being acquitted of other charges or receiving suspended sentences. Ahead of the protest call, hundreds of Khan’s party members, including several parliamentarians, were convicted late last month on charges related to the 2023 protests against his arrest.