Richard Grenell, President-elect Donald Trump’s loyalist and his former intelligence chief, has called for release of incarcerated Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan amid ongoing “do-or-die” protest in Islamabad.
“Release Imran Khan,” Grenell — who served as Trump’s ambassador to Germany and was acting director of national intelligence during Trump’s 2017-2021 term — wrote on X while reposting a Bloomberg report about the PTI’s protest.
Following Imran’s removal from prime minister office through a vote of no-confidence, the PTI founder — who remains incarcerated at the Adiala jail since August last year — had previously alleged that the US was behind his ouster in 2022, citing a purported cipher linked with the US diplomat Donald Lu.
It is pertinent to mention here that the former premier has good relations with Trump, when he was the president, and held several meetings with the President-elect, including at the White House.
Thousands of PTI protesters marched on Islamabad this week, defying all the obstacles and clashing with police, in response to incarcerated former prime minister’s call for a protest.
The former ruling party staged protest against the “illegal” incarceration of PTI founder, other party leaders and workers, “stolen mandate” in February 8 general elections and 26th Constitutional Amendment.
Authorities have enforced a security lockdown to block the protesters while highways into the city were barricaded.
Meanwhile, the law enforcement agencies (LEAs) have pushed back the marching protesters from Islamabad’s D-Chowk — the venue of the party’s much-touted power show.
Geo News correspondent, who is present at the spot, reported that PTI protesters began retreating from the site following the heavy teargas shelling and action by the authorities.
The Imran Khan-founded party, in recent months, has marched on the federal capital on multiple occasions which has seen its workers clashing with the law enforcement agencies (LEAs).
