"It's only human to expect a friend to show support in these difficult times," Imran Khan aide Zulfikar Bukhari told Newsweek.

Authorities have reopened roads linking Pakistan’s capital with the rest of the country, ending a four-day lockdown, after using tear gas and firing into the air to disperse supporters of imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan who demanded his release from prison.

A PTI leader has told BBC Urdu that Imran Khan's supporters are on Faisal Avenue, about six kilometres away from D Chowk. D Chowk is a key point in central Islamabad near government buildings, the Supreme Court and parliament.