- Supporters of jailed former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan clashed with security forces in Islamabad on Tuesday, leaving six people dead.
- Thousands of security personnel were sent to central Islamabad to quell the protests.
- More than 4,000 Khan supporters have been arrested, and the government has also suspended mobile phone and internet services, blocked major travel routes and banned anti-riot gatherings.
Supporters calling for the release of imprisoned former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan broke through a ring of shipping containers blocking the capital on Tuesday and engaged security forces, despite the government threatening to respond with gunfire. did. Six people died in this riot.
Thousands of security forces poured into central Islamabad to quell pro-Khan protests that have occupied the capital and surrounding areas since Sunday. The popular politician has been in prison for more than a year and faces more than 150 criminal charges that his party says are politically motivated.
Authorities say only a court can order the release of Khan, who was ousted in a parliamentary no-confidence vote in 2022. He has been in prison since his first conviction in the graft case in August 2023.
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On Tuesday, Pakistani troops captured D Chowk, a large square in the red zone of downtown Islamabad. It houses the main government buildings and is also home to visiting Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. Paramilitary rangers and police were also present, with some firing warning shots into the air.
Militia soldiers fire tear gas to disperse supporters of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan during clashes in Islamabad, Pakistan, November 26, 2024. Supporters demanding Khan's release broke through a ring of shipping containers that had blocked off the capital on Tuesday. They fought security forces despite government threats to fire back. Six people died in this riot. (AP Photo/Irtisham Ahmed)
Still, Mr Khan's wife Bushra Bibi, who is leading the protests, slowly made her way to the square in a heavily guarded motorcade, surrounded by well-wishers.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi threatened that security forces would respond with live ammunition if protesters fired their weapons.
“We are now allowing the police to take any decision depending on the situation,” Naqvi said later while visiting the square.
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Protester Shazor Ali said people were gathering in the streets because Khan had called for them to do so. “We will stay here until Khan is among us. He will decide what to do next,” Ali said.
“If they fire again, they will be rewarded with bullets,” he said.
Farida Bibi, a protester who is not related to Mr Khan's wife, said people had suffered tremendously over the past two years.
“We have really suffered economically, politically and socially over the past two years. We are devastated. I have never seen Pakistan like this in my life,” she said. Ta.
A militia soldier fires tear gas to disperse supporters of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan during clashes in Islamabad, Pakistan, November 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Irtisham Ahmed)
Police have so far used tear gas to disperse crowds. The dead included four members of the security services and one civilian who were killed when a vehicle crashed into them on a road overnight Tuesday. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attack, saying “anarchist groups” were deliberately targeting law enforcement personnel. There was no claim of responsibility for the assault. One police officer was also killed.
A number of people were injured, including journalists who were attacked by demonstrators. Dozens of Khan's supporters beat an Associated Press videographer covering the protests and stole his camera. He suffered a head injury and was treated at a hospital.
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Pakistani media has largely stopped filming and photographing the rallies, focusing instead on security measures and the city's deserted streets.
By Tuesday afternoon, a new wave of demonstrators had advanced unopposed toward their final destination in the red zone. Most of the demonstrators wore flags of Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party slung over their shoulders or wore the party's tricolor as accessories.
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan is photographed at the Diaoyutai Guest House in Beijing, China on October 9, 2019. (Parker Songpool/Getty Images)
Naqvi said Khan's party rejected the government's proposal to hold a rally on the outskirts of the city.
Information Minister Atta Tarar warned that the government would respond harshly to the violence.
He said the government did not want Bushra Bibi to achieve her goal of freeing Khan. “She wants bodies on the ground. She wants bloodshed,” he said.
To quell the riots, police have arrested more than 4,000 Khan supporters since Friday, suspended mobile and internet services in some parts of the country, and messaging platforms in the capital have also been severely disrupted.
Mr Khan's party has relied heavily on social media to demand his release, using messaging platforms such as WhatsApp to share information, including details of events. The X platform, which is banned in Pakistan, is no longer accessible using a VPN.
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On Thursday, a court banned public gatherings in the capital, and Naqvi said anyone violating the ban would be arrested. Travel between Islamabad and other cities has become nearly impossible as shipping containers block roads. All educational institutions remain closed.
