PESHAWAR: Pakistan Peoples Party workers on Tuesday held a protest demonstration against the prolonged incarceration of party`s senior leader Syed Khurshid Shah under corruption charges, and demanded his immediate release.

Wearing black armbands, the protesters were shouting slogans against the National Accountability Bureau and Prime Minister Imran Khan for what they said victimising the leaders of opposition parties to suppress their voices.

PPP provincial president Najamuddin Khan and senior leaders, including Syed Zahir Ali Shah, Senator Rubina Khalid, Syed Ayub Shah, Misbahuddin Khan, Ziaullah Afridi, Razaullah Khan Chagharmati, Malik Tehmas, Ilyas Khan Pabbi and Zulfiqar Afghani led the protesters.

Party activists from different areas participated in the demonstration held outside the Peshawar Press Club.

The PPP leaders said Khurshid Shah had been in NAB custody for the past two years, but the accountability watchdog was yet to file a reference against him. They also condemned the arrest of family members of Mr Shah and described the NAB action as sheer victimisation.

`We have decided to rid the nation of the `selected` government as early as possible,` Najamuddin said on the occasion, and added that NAB was neither releasing the PPP leader nor filing a reference against him to prove its claim about corruption charges.

He said the detained leader was seriously ill and was in need of immediate medical care. He said the government should stop `victimisation` of PPP leader and release him at the earliest to remove unrest among the party workers.

The rally, he said was meant to express solidarity with the PPP leader and to assure him that the party workers were ready to offer sacrifices for his release.

Mr Najamuddin said Khurshid Shah had always played very positive role in national politics and worked for bringing the government and opposition closer in the larger national interest.

The demonstration caused traffic disruption on the main Sher Shah Suri Road for some time.