Protests in Pakistan

[Samson]

Protesters seeking the release of Imran Khan and his Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party have defied the government and marched on Islamabad.

Attempts were made to barricaded them outside the city, but they have succeeded in reaching D-Chowk in Islamabad’s Red Zone, where automatic fire and tear gas are reported.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi says the army has been deployed in the Red Zone after the constitution’s Article 245 was invoked. More than 4,000 protesters have been arrested so far.

At least six people have been killed in protest-related violence, including four members of the paramilitary Pakistan Rangers.

This is all ongoing, I am sure more news will emerge.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1861334393249235040

 

[Samson]

Pakistan police crackdown clears Imran Khan protesters from Islamabad

Pakistan’s security forces have driven supporters of imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan from Islamabad following a sweeping crackdown overnight.

Authorities reopened roads linking the capital with the rest of the country, ending a four-day lockdown, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said on Wednesday, confirming that the city had been cleared.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, a key aide to Khan, said hundreds of protesters who had marched to Islamabad demanding the release of the cricketer-turned-politician had been shot and thousands were arrested in the crackdown. In a separate statement, Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party also said eight people were killed, a claim dismissed by the government.

Police had earlier said no lethal arms were used in Tuesday night’s operation and nearly 1,000 protesters had been arrested.

On Wednesday morning, city workers were cleaning up debris and clearing the shipping containers that had been used by authorities to block roads leading into the capital to halt the protesters’ march.

PTI announced a “temporary suspension” of the protests, broadcaster Geo News reported on Wednesday.

Mohammad Asim, PTI’s president for the city of Peshawar in the party’s northern stronghold of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, told news agency Reuters that the party would “chalk out the new strategy later after proper consultation”.

He said Bibi and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, a key Khan ally, had returned “safely” to the province from Islamabad. Police are known to be seeking Bibi’s arrest.

Police have arrested more than 4,000 Khan supporters since Friday and suspended mobile and internet services in some parts of the country. However, services have now been restored.

 

[Samson]

Imran Khan, Bushra Bibi face ‘terrorism’ charges after Islamabad protests

The Pakistani government has filed a series of charges, including one related to “terrorism”, against former Prime Minister Imran Khan, his wife, Bushra Bibi, and hundreds of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party workers after protests held in Islamabad this week.

Khan, Bibi and others have been accused of “terrorism”, violations of a law that restricts protests in the capital, attacks on police, abduction, interference in government affairs and defiance of Section 144, which prohibits gatherings of more than four people.

Authorities have already arrested nearly 1,000 workers from Khan’s PTI party who travelled to Islamabad on Sunday to participate in the sit-in in response to their leader’s “final call” to protest against the government.

Khan, the PTI’s founder, has been imprisoned since August 2023 and is facing dozens of criminal cases. Bibi was also jailed for nine months this year before being released in October.

“The health department has issued two statements, one from Poly Clinic and another from PIMS Hospital, stating there have been no dead bodies,” Tarar said, answering a query from Al Jazeera and referring to two of the largest public hospitals in Islamabad.

The casualty count remains in dispute with PTI leaders issuing contradictory statements, alleging deaths ranging from 10 to 200.

Hospital authorities have refused to share details of the injured and dead, telling Al Jazeera that they were “forbidden” from sharing information, a charge that the government denied. The government added that fake lists were circulating online.

The controversy deepened when journalist Matiullah Jan, a vocal critic of Pakistan’s military, was arrested.

Jan had reportedly been investigating the alleged deaths during the protest for his YouTube channel. An initial police report against him accuses him of drug trafficking, “terrorism” and assaulting police officers.