Imran Khan supporters call off protest after crackdown

On November 27, 2024, 7:44 PM

Opposition supporters in Pakistan have temporarily called off protests demanding the release of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan, a day after marching on central Islamabad.

Protesters had vowed not to leave the capital until Khan’s release. But as they breached barriers and made their way to Democracy Square on Tuesday, they were pushed back by police and were met with volleys of tear gas.

At least six people – four security officers and two civilians – died in clashes during the latest protests, which began on Sunday.

Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), said in a statement on Wednesday that the protests had been “temporarily suspended” due to the “government’s brutality”.

The PTI accused security forces of pushing a man off a stack of cargo containers in central Islamabad, posting images to X which showed the incident.

The party said the man had been praying on the container when “an armed paramilitary officer brutally pushed him off from a height equivalent to three storeys”.

AFP

The man is seen offering prayers on top of a shipping container, moments before soldiers pushed him off

Video footage showed security forces – who were carrying riot shields with markings indicating they were affiliated with the Pakistani Rangers, a paramilitary force – approaching a man kneeling on top of the containers before pushing him over the edge.

BBC Verify has confirmed that the incident took place on Tuesday on Jinnah Avenue in Islamabad, where protesters had gathered. The footage was verified by matching a video of the fall posted on social media with images uploaded by Getty Images on Tuesday of the same scene.

The man’s condition could not be established from the available footage. BBC Verify has approached the Pakistani Rangers for comment.

Although Khan’s supporters managed to reach the city centre on Tuesday, by sunset the authorities had dispersed them.

One government source told local media that the police had arrested more than 500 PTI supporters and the interior minister said that Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi, who had been central to the protest, had left the area.

The PTI have claimed that several of their party workers were killed during the crackdown and appealed for an investigation.

Overnight the BBC spoke to two sources at a nearby hospital who said that they had received four bodies of civilians with gunshot wounds.

The BBC has not yet independently verified the reports. Pakistan’s information minister said the authorities had resisted firing on protesters.

Islamabad had been put under lockdown, with a heavy security presence deployed in anticipation of clashes with convoys of PTI supporters.

The convoys were led by PTI leader Ali Amin Gandapur and Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi, who was released from prison in October and has since taken a more prominent role in trying to mobilise support for Khan.

Reports say Gandapur and Bushra Bibi have left Islamabad and returned to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where their convoy had come from.

Protesters were reported to have responded to a “final” call from Khan, asking them to “fight till the end” until their demands are met.

Their destination was D-Chowk near central government buildings in Islamabad, and the site of political rallies and protests since the 1980s.

But only some of the protesters made it that far.

By Tuesday evening – just hours after protesters first reached the square – security officers had successfully cleared the area. As darkness fell, the lights were switched off – with only police officers and paramilitary soldiers left behind.

Khan has been in prison for more than a year on charges he says are politically motivated.

Even from behind bars, the former cricket star has proved a powerful player in Pakistan politics. During elections in February his party, which had been banned from standing and was forced to run candidates as independents, emerged as the single largest bloc.

However, they fell short of a majority and their rivals united to form a new government.

The PTI has called for election results to be overturned because they say the vote was rigged, a claim disputed by the government.