Pakistan’s former prime minister and cricketing icon Imran Khan turned 72 on Saturday, his second birthday in jail as his party supporters headed for Islamabad for a planned rally demanding his freedom and “independence of judiciary.” On social media, his fans and political supporters used hashtag #HappyBirthdayImranKhan to wish him on his birthday. They posted his old photos and videos from the sporting days.

Khan was prime minister from August 18, 2018 till April 9, 2022, when he was ousted after a no-confidence motion. He was arrested on August 5 last year in the Toshakhana corruption case. Multiple cases were filed against him one after the other, and he is convicted in some of them.

He has been lodged at the Adiala jail in Rawalpindi for over a year.

Khan's birthday has coincided with his party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) planned protests at D Chowk in Islamabad and Minar-e-Pakistan in Lahore where the supporters are heading to on his call.

The army has been called in to thwart the protests. On Saturday, his message on X urged his followers to reach the D-Chowk in Islamabad for protests and those from Punjab to joint at Lahore.

“I am so proud of all our people. Thank you for keeping the faith. You showed unfaltering resilience and courage as you came out yesterday & overcame unbelievable obstacles to keep marching forward towards D Chowk,” he said and termed it as a “fight for Haqeeqi Azadi” (real freedom).

Although there were no big-ticket events in Pakistan, international cricketing sites and groups paid homage to his cricketing skills and joined the celebrations on X.

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