Pakistan opposition protest march escalates to deadly clashes

 

Paramilitary soldiers fire tear gas shells to disperse supporters of imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, during clashes in Islamabad, Pakistan on Nov. 26, 2024.

ISLAMABAD —

Supporters of Pakistan’s imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan broke through barricades Tuesday to enter central Islamabad and stage a protest seeking his release, among other demands.

Police resorted to extensive tear gas shelling in an effort to stop the protesters, but several hundred managed to reach a central square in the Pakistani capital.

Authorities said the clashes with protesters had resulted in the deaths of at least four law enforcement personnel and injuries to many others.

Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, or PTI, said its supporters were not involved in attacks on security forces. Instead, it accused police of firing live bullets at protesters, killing three of them and injuring many others.

The deadly violence erupted when thousands of PTI supporters arrived in Islamabad overnight for a planned sit-in demonstration in the city’s famous public square, known as the D-Chowk, until their demands were addressed.

Supporters of imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party move toward D-Chowk square during their rally demanding Khan's release, in Islamabad on Nov. 26, 2024.

"My message to the team is to fight until the end; we will not back down until our demands are met,” Khan stated in a message posted on his official X account. “To those threatening me with a trial in a military court, I will not waver from my stance, no matter what you do to me.”

Ali Amin Gandapur, the chief minister of the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which is ruled by the Khan party, addressed PTI supporters shortly after reaching the protest venue.

“We will not return from D-Chowk until Imran Khan orders us to. Let us protest peacefully. … This is our country,” Gandapur said.

Reports and witnesses said the deaths of three law enforcement personnel and a protester took place when a police vehicle allegedly collided with a crowd of PTI activists and security forces while withdrawing from a large rally because they had run out of tear gas shells.

But Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his government security officials disputed the reported ramming of the vehicle. He accused protesters of deliberately targeting security forces, killing three of them and “critically” injuring another.

"It is not a peaceful protest. It is extremism," Sharif’s office quoted him as saying.

“Pakistan cannot afford any chaos and bloodshed for achieving vested political purposes. These acts of violence are unacceptable and highly condemnable, which are bordering the limits of restraint by the law enforcement agencies,” the prime minister said in a subsequent statement.

Protesters also assaulted foreign and local media journalists covering the rally, injuring at least one of them.

Supporters of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party shout slogans and hold gear snatched from police during their march toward Islamabad demanding Khan's release, in Hasan Abdal, Punjab province, on Nov. 25, 2024.

The United States reaffirmed Monday its support for freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.

“We call on protesters to demonstrate peacefully and refrain from violence,” State Department spokesperson Mathew Miller told reporters in Washington. “At the same time, we call on Pakistani authorities to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms and to ensure respect for Pakistan’s laws and constitution as they work to maintain law and order.”

Pakistani television channels mostly ignored filming and photographing the opposition rally because of a long-running government ban on airing Khan’s statements and images or even mentioning his name in their broadcasts.

Khan’s wife, Bushra Bibi, the former first lady, is leading the rally and has vowed not to leave Islamabad until all their demands are met.

Mushahid Hussain, a former Sharif party senator and the head of the Islamabad-based independent Pakistan China Institute, criticized the government for cracking down on PTI supporters.

“It’s Yesterday Once More: repeating past mistakes! Regime Stupidity & Rigidity, reinforced by monumental incompetence,” Hussain warned in a post on his X social media platform. “Recipe for Disaster! Learn from Bangladesh: People’s Will cannot be crushed with brute force!” he wrote.

Khan, prime minister from 2018 to 2022, was ousted through an opposition parliamentary vote of no-confidence after falling out with Pakistan’s powerful military.

The 72-year-old former cricket star-turned-politician has been imprisoned since August 2023, facing more than 150 criminal cases, which include charges of corruption, terrorism and instigation of violence against military properties.

Khan denies the charges, calling them politically motivated and orchestrated by the military — accusations his successor and army officials dismiss as unfounded.

The Sharif government maintains that it has nothing to do with Khan\’s legal challenges and that only courts can order his release.

PTI asserts that all convictions have been either overturned or suspended by appeals courts due to lack of evidence, but authorities keep coming up with new charges. The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has recently called for Khan’s immediate release, saying he is being detained illegally and in breach of international law.

The military has staged several coups and has governed Pakistan for more than three decades since its independence in 1947. Khan and other prominent Pakistani politicians say that army generals influence elected governments even when not formally in power.

 

By：VOA