Protests to free former Pakistan PM Imran Khan were paused Wednesday as Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi warned protesters extreme measures will be used if they enter the capital Islamabad. Khan is jailed on corruption charges he calls politically motivated. File photo by Chamila Karunarathne/EPA-EFE
Protests to free former Pakistan PM Imran Khan paused Wednesday as Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi warned protesters that extreme measures will be used if they enter the capital Islamabad.
The warning followed midnight raids by Pakistan security forces to disperse protesters who stormed Islamabad and demanded Khan’s release from jail. Thousands of protesters gathered on the outskirts of the city. Advertisement
Despite the warning, some clashed with security forces at the edge of a high-security red zone amid reports of tear gas and mass arrests.
Khan’s PTI party said on X Wednesday the protests are called off “for the time being.”
The PTI X statement said, “A massacre has unfolded in Pakistan at the hands of security forces under the brutal, fascist military regime led by the Shehbaz-Zardari-Asim alliance. The nation is drowning in blood. Today, armed security forces launched a violent assault on peaceful PTI protesters in Islamabad, firing live rounds with the intent to kill as many people as possible.”
The statement added, “Pakistan is experiencing its darkest hour since the massacre in East Pakistan in 1971. The rulers have learned nothing from history and are prepared to destroy the country to cling to their illegitimate power.” Advertisement
The PTI claimed several members of their party died during the security crackdown and called for an investigation.
According to the BBC, two hospital sources said they had taken in four bodies of civilians killed by gunfire, but the broadcaster was unable to verify the claim.
The BBC report noted that at least four security officers and two civilians died in the clashes.
On Tuesday, thousands of demonstrators who support Khan as he faces corruption charges broke through barricades, killing four security service members as they moved toward the center of Islamabad.
A PTI convoy of vehicles drove through the security lines Tuesday.
Security forces fired Live rounds, as well as tear gas, and authorities arrested more than 4,000 protesters during the deadly clashes.
Khan was ousted as prime minister by a 2022 no-confidence vote in the National Assembly. He was stripped of a seat in Parliament days after winning it.
In January, Khan and his wife, Bib,i were convicted of corruption and sentenced to 14 years in prison. They were collectively fined $5.3 million for keeping or buying official state gifts to Pakistan and reselling them for personal gain.
Khan claimed that and other criminal legal proceedings against him are politically motivated. Advertisement
