Reporting snapshot · 18 February 2026. The political situation was developing; this article reflects what the alliance and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister said on the day.
What happened
A Pakistani opposition alliance called off its days-long sit-in over the health of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan on Wednesday 18 February 2026, while Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) announced a new mobilisation campaign including an “Imran Khan Release Force”. Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, head of the Tehreek Tahaffuz-e-Aiyeen Pakistan (TTAP) alliance, told journalists outside Parliament House that the sit-in inside the building was being ended. A spokesperson for the alliance, Hussain Ahmad Yousafzai, confirmed that “all sit-ins including the one at parliament have been called off.”
The protest began on 13 February, when PTI and TTAP lawmakers set up camp at Parliament House and KP House in Islamabad to demand that Khan be moved to hospital for treatment of an eye condition and be allowed access to his personal physicians and family. The announcement followed consultations held in the Supreme Court, where Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Muhammad Sohail Afridi was also present. Allama Nasir said the alliance’s central demand — access for Khan’s personal doctors — remained, and that there was optimism about improvement in his eyesight; he asked that Khan be shifted to Shifa International Hospital for further treatment.
A new PTI campaign
Separately, Chief Minister Afridi told reporters that Khan had assigned him the task of leading a “street movement” and that the party was forming an “Imran Khan Release Force”. He said the force would be formally registered, would pursue a completely peaceful struggle and would have a clear chain of command, with responsibilities decided by Khan himself. Membership would be open to youth across the country and would draw on PTI’s student, youth, women, minority and professional wings, with membership cards to be issued within days and supporters to take an oath in Peshawar after Eid. Afridi said Khan would dissolve the body after his release, and framed the effort as a struggle for “real freedom, supremacy of the constitution and law, democracy and free media”.
Why it matters
Khan, 73, has been jailed since August 2023 after convictions he and his party call politically motivated, and his health has become the sharpest point of contention between the PTI-led opposition and the government. The dispute intensified after a report filed in the Supreme Court by his lawyer and the court’s appointed friend, Barrister Salman Safdar, said Khan had been diagnosed with central retinal vein occlusion in his right eye and retained only about 15% vision there; a government medical board said the swelling had reduced and his vision had improved after treatment. The decision to end the sit-in removes a visible flashpoint at Parliament House, but the newly announced release force signals that the PTI intends to keep up pressure on the streets.
Sources & reporting notes
This is a synthesis of published material, not eyewitness reporting. Sources were reviewed on 18 February 2026.
- Arab News Pakistan — "Pakistan opposition ends protests, PTI forms 'Imran Khan Release Force' for jailed ex-PM"Published 18 Feb 2026 · Alliance spokesperson Hussain Ahmad Yousafzai on calling off the sit-ins, Afridi's announcement of the release force, and background on Khan's imprisonment and the eye condition.
- The News — "Opposition alliance announces end of parliament sit-in over Imran Khan's health"Published 18 Feb 2026 · Allama Raja Nasir Abbas's announcement, the demand to shift Khan to Shifa International Hospital, the 13 February start of the sit-in, and the CRVO diagnosis reported to the Supreme Court.
