Clashes between Pakistani security forces and supporters of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan killed at least a dozen people, including law enforcement personnel. They injured many more in the national capital Tuesday.
The dead included at least five paramilitary and police force members and more than six supporters of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, or PTI, according to authorities and protest organizers.
The violence erupted after thousands of PTI supporters arrived in Islamabad overnight and marched toward the city’s famous public square, the D-Chowk, to stage a sit-in demonstration until their demands, including Khan’s release, were addressed.
The rally broke through barricades and headed to the protest venue before police resorted to extensive tear gas shelling.
Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi voiced optimism for normalcy in Islamabad early Wednesday as former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s supporters withdrew following intense clashes with police and paramilitary Rangers, with his party claiming at least eight protesters were killed.
The unrest unfolded as police and Rangers launched an operation to disperse Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) protesters who aimed to stage a sit-in near parliament and key government installations, demanding the release of Khan, who has been in prison for over a year.
Led by Khan’s wife, Bushra Bibi, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister, Ali Amin Gandapur, the protest march began on November 24 with a “final call” by the ex-premier to his supporters, with many of them vowing not return until Khan was freed.
Speaking to the media, Naqvi said the protesters had fled, adding that Bibi and Gandapur were also “on the run.”
“You saw them fleeing— thousands, not just one or two or three,” he said, referring to the protesters.
“For us, the most important thing is to restore all the roads in Islamabad that were blocked. Reopen mobile phone and Internet services. By tomorrow, you will find the roads operational,” he added.
Meanwhile, PTI accused the government of using excessive force against its supporters. In a strongly worded social media post, the party described the crackdown as a “massacre” by the state.
“A massacre has unfolded in Pakistan at the hands of security forces… firing live rounds with the intent to kill as many people as possible. Pakistan is experiencing its darkest hour since the massacre in East Pakistan in 1971,” the party wrote.
