Pakistan police on Wednesday said they arrested about 1,000 protesters who marched in the capital demanding the release of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan, after crowds were cleared from the city center in a massive security crackdown. .
Imran Khan has been in jail since August 2023, claiming dozens of legal cases were filed to block his return to the polls this year amid allegations of rigging.
Since the vote in February, his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party has protested government action with regular rallies, but Tuesday’s gathering was the largest yet to occupy the capital since the vote. Was.
More than 10,000 protesters entered the city, violating the lockdown and ban on public gatherings, and 20,000 security forces were deployed to send them back.
Islamabad Police Inspector General Ali Nasir Rizvi said 954 protesters were arrested between Sunday and Tuesday after the mob came within a mile (1.6 kilometers) of a public square they aimed to occupy.
The government said at least one police officer and four state paramilitary personnel were killed, before forces armed with tear gas and batons cleared the main road early Wednesday.
Home Minister Mohsin Naqvi said in a statement that security forces “bravely dispersed the protesters” as PTI told activists on social media, adding that the rally has been canceled “for the time being”.
‘High time’ for talks
Imran Khan on Tuesday called supporters to the capital in a statement from his cell outside Islamabad.
But the mob was led by their chief Lieutenant Ali Amin Gandapur and his wife Bushra Bibi, who were also jailed earlier this year but were released last month.
“The movement is continuing and only Imran Khan will end it,” Gandapur said after returning from Islamabad to the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called the protests “extremism”. From Sunday, his ministers held regular press conferences in central Islamabad and vowed to show no mercy to the marchers who arrived.
But as they retreated from the capital, calls for rapprochement grew to prevent future incidents affecting regular citizens in the country of 240 million.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said in a statement that the parties of Imran Khan and Shehbaz Sharif should “immediately enter into a purposeful political dialogue”.
“It is time that they agreed to move forward peacefully instead of provoking the sentiments of their respective political activists and bringing the country to a standstill,” the organization said.
Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute at The Wilson Center, said on social media platform X that “there were no winners in the Pakistan protests”.
He said that anger towards the ruling establishment has increased over the action, while PTI has also been forced to step back.
“Overall, Pakistan is burdened by the worsening conflict,” he said.
‘excessive force’
Criticism of Shehbaz Sharif’s government is increasing for taking strict measures to stop PTI rallies.
Mobile internet was cut across Islamabad, schools that closed on Monday remained closed on Wednesday and thousands of workers were unable to reach work due to road blockades.
Amnesty International said that “as protesters entered the capital, law enforcement officers used unlawful and excessive force.”
Charismatic 72-year-old former cricket star Imran Khan served as the premier from 2018 to 2022 and is the idol of PTI.
He was ousted in a no-confidence vote after differences with the military establishment that created the king, which analysts say led to the rise and fall of Pakistan’s politicians.
But as opposition leader, he led an unprecedented campaign of defiance, with street protests turning into unrest that the government cited as the reason for its crackdown.
The PTI won more seats in this year’s election than any other party, but was ousted from power by a coalition of parties considered more vulnerable to military influence.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
