Islamabad braces for protests in support of jailed ex-PM Imran Khan

Islamabad was under lockdown Sunday amid nationwide protests in favor of releasing former Prime Minister Imran Khan from prison.

Despite being behind bars for more than a year, Khan remains the dominant political force driving Pakistan’s opposition, and the country’s powerful military establishment and current government sees him and his party as a public threat, an analyst told the BBC.

Certainly, the protests have taken a toll on Pakistan’s struggling economy: One analysis estimated the demonstrations have cost more than $9 million over the last 1.5 years, and the International Monetary Fund recently issued a $7 billion loan that includes conditions aimed at boosting public trust in the country’s febrile government.